Which to use
“Maud” is a name and “max” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,556
- “Maud” frequency rank
- #2,222
- “max” frequency rank
- 29778
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Maud | max |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A female given name from the Germanic languages. | Maximum; maximal. |
Where the eye mixes Maud and max
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Maud with max
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Maud is /mɔːd/ while max is /mæks/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29778, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Maud is recorded at frequency rank #27,556, classified as aname, pronounced /mɔːd/. max is at rank #2,222, tagged as anadj, pronounced /mæks/.
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 29778, this pair ranks #360,098 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Maud vs max
Shared letters: am. Private to "Maud": du. Private to "max": x.
"Maud" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "max" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Maud ← amud · madu · maudd · mmaud · muad
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Maud" and "max" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "Maud" or "max" show up more?
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 "Maud" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "max" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #360,098 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Maud" and "max" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "marl vs Maud". 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 #360,098 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.