magusvsmodusWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“magus” and “modus” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#46,600
“magus” frequency rank
#31,659
“modus” frequency rank
78259
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature magus modus
Definition A magician; (derogatory) a conjurer or sorcerer, especially one who is a charlatan or trickster. The arrangement of, or mode of expressing, the terms of a contract or conveyance.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set magus and modus apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
magus
5 ch
modus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. magus (/ˈmeɪɡəs/) and modus (/ˈməʊdəs/) 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 78259, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

magus is recorded at frequency rank #46,600, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmeɪɡəs/. modus is at rank #31,659, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈməʊdəs/.

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 78259, this pair ranks #25,059 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of magus vs modus

Shared letters: msu. Private to "magus": ag. Private to "modus": do.

"magus" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "modus" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • magusamgus · maggus · magsu · maguss · maugs · mgaus · mmagus
  • modusmdous · mmodus · moddus · modsu · moduss · mouds · omdus

Frequency comparison

magus#46,600
modus#31,659

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "magus" and "modus" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈmeɪɡəs/ versus /ˈməʊdəs/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "magus" or "modus"?
"modus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,659 in our English list, against #46,600 for "magus". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering magus vs modus

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “magus” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list