Which to use
“linger” is a verb and “longer” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,382
- “linger” frequency rank
- #713
- “longer” frequency rank
- 20095
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | linger | longer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To stay or remain in a place or situation, especially as if unwilling to depart or not easily able to do so. | comparative form of long: more long |
Where the eye mixes linger and longer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: linger vs longer
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: linger is /ˈlɪŋɡɚ/ while longer is /ˈlɒŋ.ɡə/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - i in “linger” becomes o in “longer”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20095, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
linger is recorded at frequency rank #19,382, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈlɪŋɡɚ/. longer is at rank #713, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈlɒŋ.ɡə/.
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 20095, this pair ranks #433,504 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of linger vs longer
Shared letters: eglnr. Private to "linger": i. Private to "longer": o.
"linger" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "longer" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "linger" for "longer" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "linger" or "longer" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "linger" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "longer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #433,504 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "linger" and "longer" 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 #433,504 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.