Which to use
“minute” and “misuse” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,124
- “minute” frequency rank
- #14,169
- “misuse” frequency rank
- 15293
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | minute | misuse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A unit of time which is one sixtieth of an hour (sixty seconds). | An incorrect, improper or unlawful use of something. |
Where the eye mixes minute and misuse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: minute vs misuse
A purely visual mix-up. minute (/ˈmɪnɪt/) and misuse (/mɪsˈjuːs/) 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 15293, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
minute is recorded at frequency rank #1,124, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɪnɪt/. misuse is at rank #14,169, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mɪsˈjuːs/.
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 15293, this pair ranks #464,900 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of minute vs misuse
Shared letters: eimu. Private to "minute": nt. Private to "misuse": s.
"minute" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "misuse" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "minute" and "misuse" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "minute" or "misuse"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "minute" and "misuse" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "minute" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "misuse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #464,900 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "minute" and "misuse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "missa vs misuse". 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 #464,900 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.