Which to use
“maim” and “mar” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,918
- “maim” frequency rank
- #5,233
- “mar” frequency rank
- 50151
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maim | mar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To wound seriously; to cause permanent loss of function of a limb or part of the body. | To spoil; to ruin; to scathe; to damage. |
Where the eye mixes maim and mar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: maim vs mar
A purely visual mix-up. maim (/meɪm/) and mar (/mɑː(ɹ)/) 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 50151, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maim is recorded at frequency rank #44,918, classified as averb, pronounced /meɪm/. mar is at rank #5,233, tagged as averb, pronounced /mɑː(ɹ)/.
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 50151, this pair ranks #176,877 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of maim vs mar
Shared letters: am. Private to "maim": i. Private to "mar": r.
"maim" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "mar" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- maim ← amim · maimm · mmaim
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "maim" and "mar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "maim" or "mar"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "maim" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #176,877 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maim" and "mar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maim vs marl". 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 #176,877 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.