Which to use
“interlude” is a noun and “intrude” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,799
- “interlude” frequency rank
- #36,621
- “intrude” frequency rank
- 62420
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | interlude | intrude |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An intervening episode, etc. | To thrust oneself in; to come or enter without invitation, permission, or welcome; to encroach; to trespass. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set interlude and intrude apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: interlude is /ˈɪntə(ɹ)luːd/ while intrude is /ɪnˈtɹuːd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62420, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
interlude is recorded at frequency rank #25,799, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɪntə(ɹ)luːd/. intrude is at rank #36,621, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɪnˈtɹuːd/.
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 62420, this pair ranks #88,620 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of interlude vs intrude
Shared letters: deinrtu. Private to "interlude": l. Private to "intrude": -.
"interlude" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV · "intrude" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCV