Which to use
“intercede” is a verb and “interlude” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #49,427
- “intercede” frequency rank
- #25,799
- “interlude” frequency rank
- 75226
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | intercede | interlude |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To plead on someone else's behalf. | An intervening episode, etc. |
Where the eye mixes intercede and interlude
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses intercede with interlude
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: intercede is /ɪntə(ɹ)ˈsiːd/ while interlude is /ˈɪntə(ɹ)luːd/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75226, 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/. interlude is at rank #25,799, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɪntə(ɹ)luːd/.
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 75226, this pair ranks #33,806 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of intercede vs interlude
Shared letters: deinrt. Private to "intercede": c. Private to "interlude": lu.
"intercede" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV · "interlude" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "intercede" for "interlude" ever safe?
Frequency check: "intercede" vs "interlude" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "intercede" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "interlude" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #33,806 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "intercede" and "interlude" 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 #33,806 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.