Which to use
“magic” and “malice” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,796
- “magic” frequency rank
- #18,617
- “malice” frequency rank
- 20413
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | magic | malice |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The application of rituals or actions, especially those based on occult knowledge, to subdue or manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces in order to have some benefit from them. | Intention to harm or deprive in an illegal or immoral way. Desire to take pleasure in another's misfortune. |
Where the eye mixes magic and malice
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between magic and malice
A purely visual mix-up. magic (/ˈmad͡ʒɪk/) and malice (/ˈmælɪs/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20413, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
magic is recorded at frequency rank #1,796, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmad͡ʒɪk/. malice is at rank #18,617, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmælɪs/.
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 20413, this pair ranks #431,255 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of magic vs malice
Shared letters: acim. Private to "magic": g. Private to "malice": el.
"magic" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "malice" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "magic" and "malice" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "magic" vs "malice" - which ranks higher?
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 "magic" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "malice" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #431,255 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "magic" and "malice" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "malice vs moline". 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 #431,255 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.