Which to use
“loath” is an adjective and “loathe” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #43,241
- “loath” frequency rank
- #25,122
- “loathe” frequency rank
- 68363
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | loath | loathe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Averse, disinclined; reluctant, unwilling. Always followed by a verbal phrase. | To detest, hate, or revile (someone or something). |
Where the eye mixes loath and loathe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. loath runs 5 letters (CVVCC) against loathe's 6 (CVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses loath with loathe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: loath is /ləʊθ/ while loathe is /ˈləʊð/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “loath” sits inside “loathe”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68363, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
loath is recorded at frequency rank #43,241, classified as anadj, pronounced /ləʊθ/. loathe is at rank #25,122, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈləʊð/.
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 68363, this pair ranks #59,190 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of loath vs loathe
Shared letters: ahlot. Private to "loath": -. Private to "loathe": e.
"loath" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "loathe" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "loath" and "loathe" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "loath" vs "loathe" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "loath" and "loathe" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "loath" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "loathe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #59,190 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "loath" and "loathe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "loath vs LSAT". 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 #59,190 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.