Which to use
“intercede” and “interfere” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,427
- “intercede” frequency rank
- #8,559
- “interfere” frequency rank
- 57986
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | intercede | interfere |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To plead on someone else's behalf. | To get involved or involve oneself, causing disturbance. |
Where the eye mixes intercede and interfere
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between intercede and interfere
A purely visual mix-up. intercede (/ɪntə(ɹ)ˈsiːd/) and interfere (/ˌɪn.tɚˈfɪɚ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57986, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
intercede is recorded at frequency rank #49,427, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪntə(ɹ)ˈsiːd/. interfere is at rank #8,559, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˌɪn.tɚˈfɪɚ/.
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 57986, this pair ranks #115,601 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of intercede vs interfere
Shared letters: einrt. Private to "intercede": cd. Private to "interfere": f.
"intercede" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV · "interfere" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "intercede" for "interfere" ever safe?
Frequency check: "intercede" vs "interfere" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "intercede" and "interfere" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "intercede" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "interfere" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #115,601 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "intercede" and "interfere" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "intercede vs interred". 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 #115,601 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.