ligandvslindConfusable pair

Which to use

“ligand” and “lind” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#27,197
“ligand” frequency rank
#36,225
“lind” frequency rank
63422
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ligand lind
Definition A molecule or moiety (ion, functional group, or radical) that binds to another chemical entity to form a larger complex; as, especially: The lime tree, or linden tree.

Where the eye mixes ligand and lind

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. ligand runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against lind's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
ligand
4 ch
lind

Why the eye confuses ligand with lind

A purely visual mix-up. ligand (/ˈlɪɡ.ənd/) and lind (/lɪnd/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63422, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ligand is recorded at frequency rank #27,197, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɪɡ.ənd/. lind is at rank #36,225, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɪnd/.

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 63422, this pair ranks #83,069 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ligand vs lind

Shared letters: diln. Private to "ligand": ag. Private to "lind": -.

"ligand" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "lind" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ligand ← ilgand · lgiand · liagnd · ligadn · ligandd · ligannd · liggand · lignad
  • lind ← ilnd · lidn · lindd · linnd · llind · lnid

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ligand" and "lind" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈlɪɡ.ənd/ versus /lɪnd/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ligand" or "lind"?
"ligand" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,197 in our English list, against #36,225 for "lind". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "ligand" and "lind" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ligand" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lind" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #83,069 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ligand" and "lind" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "LIF vs lind". 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 #83,069 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list