Which to use
“ministers” and “ministry” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,032
- “ministers” frequency rank
- #2,356
- “ministry” frequency rank
- 6388
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ministers | ministry |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of minister | Government department, at the administrative level normally headed by a minister (or equivalent rank, e.g. secretary of state), who holds it as portfolio, especially in a constitutional monarchy, but also as a polity |
Where the eye mixes ministers and ministry
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: ministers vs ministry
A purely visual mix-up. ministers (/ˈmɪnəstɚz/) and ministry (/ˈmɪnɪstɹi/) 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 6388, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ministers is recorded at frequency rank #4,032, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɪnəstɚz/. ministry is at rank #2,356, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɪnɪstɹi/.
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 6388, this pair ranks #511,626 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ministers vs ministry
Shared letters: imnrst. Private to "ministers": e. Private to "ministry": y.
"ministers" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC · "ministry" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ministers" for "ministry" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ministers" vs "ministry" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "ministers" and "ministry" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ministers" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ministry" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #511,626 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ministers" and "ministry" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ministers vs minster". 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 #511,626 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.