Which to use
“loath” and “lofty” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,241
- “loath” frequency rank
- #18,611
- “lofty” frequency rank
- 61852
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | loath | lofty |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Averse, disinclined; reluctant, unwilling. Always followed by a verbal phrase. | High, tall, having great height or stature. |
Where the eye mixes loath and lofty
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: loath vs lofty
A purely visual mix-up. loath (/ləʊθ/) and lofty (/ˈlɒfti/) 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 61852, 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/. lofty is at rank #18,611, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈlɒfti/.
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 61852, this pair ranks #91,839 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of loath vs lofty
Shared letters: lot. Private to "loath": ah. Private to "lofty": fy.
"loath" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "lofty" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "loath" and "lofty" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "loath" or "lofty"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "loath" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lofty" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #91,839 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "loath" and "lofty" 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 #91,839 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.