Which to use
“intake” is a noun and “invoke” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,352
- “intake” frequency rank
- #18,863
- “invoke” frequency rank
- 26215
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | intake | invoke |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The place where water, air or other fluid is taken into a pipe or conduit; opposed to outlet. | To call upon (a person, a god) for help, assistance or guidance. |
Where the eye mixes intake and invoke
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses intake with invoke
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: intake is /ˈɪnteɪk/ while invoke is /ɪnˈvoʊk/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26215, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
intake is recorded at frequency rank #7,352, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɪnteɪk/. invoke is at rank #18,863, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɪnˈvoʊk/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 26215, this pair ranks #388,361 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of intake vs invoke
Shared letters: eikn. Private to "intake": at. Private to "invoke": ov.
"intake" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "invoke" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "intake" for "invoke" ever safe?
Frequency check: "intake" vs "invoke" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "intake" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "invoke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #388,361 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "intake" and "invoke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Inoue vs invoke". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #388,361 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.