Which to use
“lessen” is a verb and “lesser” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,888
- “lessen” frequency rank
- #5,806
- “lesser” frequency rank
- 23694
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lessen | lesser |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To make less; to diminish; to reduce. | comparative form of little: more little |
Where the eye mixes lessen and lesser
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lessen vs lesser
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lessen is /ˈlɛsən/ while lesser is /ˈlɛsɚ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “lessen” becomes r in “lesser”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23694, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lessen is recorded at frequency rank #17,888, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈlɛsən/. lesser is at rank #5,806, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈlɛsɚ/.
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 23694, this pair ranks #407,454 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lessen vs lesser
Shared letters: els. Private to "lessen": n. Private to "lesser": r.
"lessen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "lesser" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lessen" for "lesser" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "lessen" or "lesser" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lessen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lesser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #407,454 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lessen" and "lesser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lessee vs lessen". 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 #407,454 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.