Which to use
“masses” and “molasses” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,814
- “masses” frequency rank
- #29,000
- “molasses” frequency rank
- 36814
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | masses | molasses |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of mass | A thick, sweet syrup drained from sugarcane, especially (Canada, US) the still thicker and sweeter syrup produced by boiling down raw molasses. |
Where the eye mixes masses and molasses
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. masses runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against molasses's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses masses with molasses
A purely visual mix-up. masses (/ˈmæs.ɪz/) and molasses (/məˈlæsɪz/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36814, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
masses is recorded at frequency rank #7,814, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmæs.ɪz/. molasses is at rank #29,000, tagged as anoun, pronounced /məˈlæsɪz/.
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 36814, this pair ranks #299,926 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of masses vs molasses
Shared letters: aems. Private to "masses": -. Private to "molasses": lo.
"masses" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "molasses" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "masses" and "molasses" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "masses" or "molasses"?
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 "masses" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "molasses" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #299,926 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "masses" and "molasses" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "masses vs Massie". 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 #299,926 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.