Which to use
“parole” and “patrols” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,933
- “parole” frequency rank
- #15,467
- “patrols” frequency rank
- 25400
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | parole | patrols |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Originally, one's oath or word of honour, given as a condition of release from custody; now specifically, describing the release of a former prisoner under certain conditions, especially the promise of good behaviour. | plural of patrol |
Where the eye mixes parole and patrols
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. parole runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against patrols's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: parole vs patrols
A purely visual mix-up. parole (/pəˈɹoʊl/) and patrols (/pəˈtɹəʊlz/) 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 25400, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
parole is recorded at frequency rank #9,933, classified as anoun, pronounced /pəˈɹoʊl/. patrols is at rank #15,467, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pəˈtɹəʊlz/.
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 25400, this pair ranks #394,546 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of parole vs patrols
Shared letters: alopr. Private to "parole": e. Private to "patrols": st.
"parole" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "patrols" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "parole" and "patrols" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "parole" vs "patrols" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "parole" and "patrols" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "parole" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "patrols" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #394,546 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "parole" and "patrols" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "parley vs parole". 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 #394,546 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.