Which to use
“pesky” and “pushy” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,528
- “pesky” frequency rank
- #29,050
- “pushy” frequency rank
- 54578
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pesky | pushy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Annoying, troublesome, irritating (usually of an animal or child). | Overly assertive, bold, or determined; aggressively ambitious. |
Where the eye mixes pesky and pushy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between pesky and pushy
A purely visual mix-up. pesky (/ˈpɛski/) and pushy (/ˈpʊʃ.i/) 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 54578, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pesky is recorded at frequency rank #25,528, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈpɛski/. pushy is at rank #29,050, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈpʊʃ.i/.
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 54578, this pair ranks #140,004 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pesky vs pushy
Shared letters: psy. Private to "pesky": ek. Private to "pushy": hu.
"pesky" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "pushy" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pesky" for "pushy" ever safe?
Frequency check: "pesky" vs "pushy" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pesky" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pushy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #140,004 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pesky" and "pushy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "psh vs pushy". 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 #140,004 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.