Which to use
“mute” is an adjective and “mutter” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,919
- “mute” frequency rank
- #38,512
- “mutter” frequency rank
- 50431
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mute | mutter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Not having the power of speech; dumb. | A repressed or obscure utterance; an instance of muttering. |
Where the eye mixes mute and mutter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses mute with mutter
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mute is /mjuːt/ while mutter is /ˈmʌtə/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50431, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mute is recorded at frequency rank #11,919, classified as anadj, pronounced /mjuːt/. mutter is at rank #38,512, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmʌtə/.
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 50431, this pair ranks #174,317 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mute vs mutter
Shared letters: emtu. Private to "mute": -. Private to "mutter": r.
"mute" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "mutter" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mute" for "mutter" ever safe?
Frequency check: "mute" vs "mutter" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "mute" and "mutter" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mute" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mutter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #174,317 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mute" and "mutter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mutate vs mutter". 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 #174,317 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.