Which to use
“lure” and “lust” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,738
- “lure” frequency rank
- #10,882
- “lust” frequency rank
- 22620
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lure | lust |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Something that tempts or attracts, especially one with a promise of reward or pleasure. | A feeling of strong desire, especially such a feeling driven by sexual arousal. |
Where the eye mixes lure and lust
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lure vs lust
A purely visual mix-up. lure (/lʊə/) and lust (/ˈlʌst/) 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 22620, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lure is recorded at frequency rank #11,738, classified as anoun, pronounced /lʊə/. lust is at rank #10,882, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlʌst/.
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 22620, this pair ranks #415,260 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lure vs lust
Shared letters: lu. Private to "lure": er. Private to "lust": st.
"lure" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "lust" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lure" and "lust" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "lure" vs "lust" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lure" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lust" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #415,260 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lure" and "lust" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lope vs lure". 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 #415,260 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.