Which to use
“ire” and “iso” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,834
- “ire” frequency rank
- #9,771
- “iso” frequency rank
- 31605
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ire | iso |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Iron. | Clipping of isolation. |
Where the eye mixes ire and iso
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: ire vs iso
A purely visual mix-up. ire (/aɪ.ɚ/) and iso (/ˈaɪsəʊ/) 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 31605, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ire is recorded at frequency rank #21,834, classified as anoun, pronounced /aɪ.ɚ/. iso is at rank #9,771, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈaɪsəʊ/.
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 31605, this pair ranks #344,737 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ire vs iso
Shared letters: i. Private to "ire": er. Private to "iso": os.
"ire" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "iso" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ire" and "iso" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "ire" or "iso"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ire" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "iso" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #344,737 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ire" and "iso" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ire vs ith". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #344,737 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.