Which to use
“lacing” and “leaving” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,579
- “lacing” frequency rank
- #1,123
- “leaving” frequency rank
- 47702
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lacing | leaving |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of lace | present participle and gerund of leave |
Where the eye mixes lacing and leaving
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lacing vs leaving
A purely visual mix-up. lacing (/ˈleɪsɪŋ/) and leaving (/ˈliːvɪŋ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47702, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lacing is recorded at frequency rank #46,579, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈleɪsɪŋ/. leaving is at rank #1,123, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈliːvɪŋ/.
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 47702, this pair ranks #199,976 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lacing vs leaving
Shared letters: agiln. Private to "lacing": c. Private to "leaving": ev.
"lacing" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "leaving" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lacing" for "leaving" ever safe?
Frequency check: "lacing" vs "leaving" - which ranks higher?
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 "lacing" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "leaving" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #199,976 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lacing" and "leaving" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lacing vs loring". 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 #199,976 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.