Which to use
“latch” is a verb and “loath” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,605
- “latch” frequency rank
- #43,241
- “loath” frequency rank
- 61846
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | latch | loath |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To close or lock as if with a latch. | Averse, disinclined; reluctant, unwilling. Always followed by a verbal phrase. |
Where the eye mixes latch and loath
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. latch (CVCCC) and loath (CVVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses latch with loath
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: latch is /læt͡ʃ/ while loath is /ləʊθ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61846, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
latch is recorded at frequency rank #18,605, classified as averb, pronounced /læt͡ʃ/. loath is at rank #43,241, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ləʊθ/.
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 61846, this pair ranks #91,867 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of latch vs loath
Shared letters: ahlt. Private to "latch": c. Private to "loath": o.
"latch" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "loath" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "latch" for "loath" ever safe?
Which is more common, "latch" or "loath"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "latch" and "loath" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "latch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "loath" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #91,867 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "latch" and "loath" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "loath vs LSAT". 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 #91,867 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.