Which to use
“murder” and “murmur” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,462
- “murder” frequency rank
- #32,091
- “murmur” frequency rank
- 33553
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | murder | murmur |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The crime of killing a person unlawfully, especially with predetermination. | Any low, indistinct sound, like that of running water. |
Where the eye mixes murder and murmur
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses murder with murmur
A purely visual mix-up. murder (/ˈmɜːdə(ɹ)/) and murmur (/ˈmɜː.mə(ɹ)/) 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 33553, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
murder is recorded at frequency rank #1,462, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɜːdə(ɹ)/. murmur is at rank #32,091, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɜː.mə(ɹ)/.
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 33553, this pair ranks #328,420 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of murder vs murmur
Shared letters: mru. Private to "murder": de. Private to "murmur": -.
"murder" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "murmur" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "murder" and "murmur" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "murder" vs "murmur" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "murder" and "murmur" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "murder" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "murmur" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #328,420 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "murder" and "murmur" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Maurer vs murder". 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 #328,420 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.