Which to use
“lasting” is an adjective and “lifting” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,979
- “lasting” frequency rank
- #6,490
- “lifting” frequency rank
- 12469
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lasting | lifting |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Persisting for an extended period of time. | The action or process by which something is lifted; elevation |
Where the eye mixes lasting and lifting
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lasting vs lifting
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lasting is /ˈlɑːstɪŋ/ while lifting is /ˈlɪf.tɪŋ/. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12469, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lasting is recorded at frequency rank #5,979, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈlɑːstɪŋ/. lifting is at rank #6,490, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɪf.tɪŋ/.
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 12469, this pair ranks #481,395 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lasting vs lifting
Shared letters: gilnt. Private to "lasting": as. Private to "lifting": f.
"lasting" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "lifting" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lasting" and "lifting" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "lasting" or "lifting" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "lasting" and "lifting" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lasting" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lifting" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #481,395 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lasting" and "lifting" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lacing vs lasting". 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 #481,395 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.