Which to use
“poise” and “posse” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,600
- “poise” frequency rank
- #23,072
- “posse” frequency rank
- 50672
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | poise | posse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A state of balance, equilibrium or stability. | A group or company of people, originally especially one having hostile intent; a throng, a crowd. |
Where the eye mixes poise and posse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. poise (CVVCV) and posse (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between poise and posse
A purely visual mix-up. poise (/pɔɪz/) and posse (/ˈpɒs.i/) 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 a single letter - i in “poise” becomes s in “posse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50672, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
poise is recorded at frequency rank #27,600, classified as anoun, pronounced /pɔɪz/. posse is at rank #23,072, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɒs.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 50672, this pair ranks #172,173 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of poise vs posse
Shared letters: eops. Private to "poise": i. Private to "posse": -.
"poise" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "posse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "poise" for "posse" ever safe?
Which is more common, "poise" or "posse"?
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 "poise" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "posse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #172,173 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "poise" and "posse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "poise vs pons". 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 #172,173 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.