Which to use
“poise” and “promise” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,600
- “poise” frequency rank
- #2,009
- “promise” frequency rank
- 29609
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | poise | promise |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A state of balance, equilibrium or stability. | An oath or affirmation; a vow. |
Where the eye mixes poise and promise
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. poise runs 5 letters (CVVCV) against promise's 7 (CCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between poise and promise
A purely visual mix-up. poise (/pɔɪz/) and promise (/ˈpɹɒmɪs/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29609, 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/. promise is at rank #2,009, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɹɒmɪs/.
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 29609, this pair ranks #361,525 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of poise vs promise
Shared letters: eiops. Private to "poise": -. Private to "promise": mr.
"poise" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "promise" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "poise" for "promise" ever safe?
Which is more common, "poise" or "promise"?
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 "promise" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #361,525 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "poise" and "promise" 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 #361,525 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.