Which to use
“lewd” is an adjective and “load” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,725
- “lewd” frequency rank
- #2,587
- “load” frequency rank
- 25312
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lewd | load |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Lascivious, sexually promiscuous, rude. | A burden; a weight to be carried. |
Where the eye mixes lewd and load
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lewd with load
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lewd is /ljuːd/ while load is /loʊd/. 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 25312, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lewd is recorded at frequency rank #22,725, classified as anadj, pronounced /ljuːd/. load is at rank #2,587, tagged as anoun, pronounced /loʊd/.
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 25312, this pair ranks #395,267 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lewd vs load
Shared letters: dl. Private to "lewd": ew. Private to "load": ao.
"lewd" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "load" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lewd" and "load" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "lewd" vs "load" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lewd" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "load" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #395,267 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lewd" and "load" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lel vs lewd". 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 #395,267 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.