Which to use
“lender” is a noun and “linger” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,269
- “lender” frequency rank
- #19,382
- “linger” frequency rank
- 31651
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lender | linger |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | One who lends, especially money; specifically, a bank or other entity that specializes in granting loans. | To stay or remain in a place or situation, especially as if unwilling to depart or not easily able to do so. |
Where the eye mixes lender and linger
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lender vs linger
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lender is /ˈlɛndɚ/ while linger is /ˈlɪŋɡɚ/. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31651, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lender is recorded at frequency rank #12,269, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɛndɚ/. linger is at rank #19,382, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈlɪŋɡɚ/.
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 31651, this pair ranks #344,368 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lender vs linger
Shared letters: elnr. Private to "lender": d. Private to "linger": gi.
"lender" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "linger" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lender" and "linger" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "lender" or "linger"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "lender" and "linger" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lender" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "linger" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #344,368 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lender" and "linger" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "linger vs linker". 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 #344,368 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.