mullingvsMullinsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: mulling is a noun, Mullins is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mulling” is a noun and “Mullins” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#44,354
“mulling” frequency rank
#27,574
“Mullins” frequency rank
71928
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mulling Mullins
Definition The act of one who mulls or thinks over something. A surname.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mulling and Mullins apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
mulling
7 ch
Mullins

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: mulling is anoun and Mullinsaname. On the page they differ by a single letter - g in “mulling” becomes s in “Mullins”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71928, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mulling is recorded at frequency rank #44,354, classified as anoun. Mullins is at rank #27,574, tagged as aname, pronounced /ˈmʌlɪnz/.

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 71928, this pair ranks #44,870 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mulling vs Mullins

Shared letters: ilmnu. Private to "mulling": g. Private to "Mullins": s.

"mulling" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "Mullins" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mullingmluling · mmulling · mulilng · muling · mullign · mullingg · mullinng · mullnig
  • Mullinsmlulins · mmullins · mulilns · mulins · mullinns · mullinss · mullisn · mullnis

Frequency comparison

mulling#44,354
Mullins#27,574

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mulling" and "Mullins" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mulling" is a noun and "Mullins" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mulling" or "Mullins"?
"Mullins" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,574 in our English list, against #44,354 for "mulling". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mulling vs Mullins

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “mulling”; for a name, it's “Mullins”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mulling” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list