Which to use
“permeable” is an adjective and “permeate” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,025
- “permeable” frequency rank
- #45,580
- “permeate” frequency rank
- 84605
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | permeable | permeate |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Able to be permeated; absorbing or allowing the passage of fluids. | To pass through the pores or interstices of; to penetrate and pass through without causing rupture or displacement; applied especially to fluids which pass through substances of loose texture |
Where the eye mixes permeable and permeate
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. permeable runs 9 letters (CVCCVVCCV) against permeate's 8 (CVCCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: permeable vs permeate
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: permeable is /ˈpɜːmiəbəl/ while permeate is /ˈpɜːmiˌeɪt/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 84605, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
permeable is recorded at frequency rank #39,025, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈpɜːmiəbəl/. permeate is at rank #45,580, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈpɜːmiˌeɪt/.
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 84605, this pair ranks #11,776 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of permeable vs permeate
Shared letters: aempr. Private to "permeable": bl. Private to "permeate": t.
"permeable" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCCV · "permeate" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "permeable" and "permeate" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "permeable" or "permeate"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "permeable" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "permeate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #11,776 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- 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 #11,776 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.