Which to use
“lilies” and “limits” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,891
- “lilies” frequency rank
- #3,178
- “limits” frequency rank
- 27069
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lilies | limits |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of lily | plural of limit |
Where the eye mixes lilies and limits
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between lilies and limits
A purely visual mix-up. lilies (/ˈlɪliz/) and limits (/ˈlɪmɪts/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27069, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lilies is recorded at frequency rank #23,891, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɪliz/. limits is at rank #3,178, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɪmɪts/.
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 27069, this pair ranks #381,870 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lilies vs limits
Shared letters: ils. Private to "lilies": e. Private to "limits": mt.
"lilies" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "limits" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lilies" for "limits" ever safe?
Which is more common, "lilies" or "limits"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "lilies" and "limits" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lilies" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "limits" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #381,870 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lilies" and "limits" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lilian vs lilies". 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 #381,870 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.