Which to use
“precede” and “preclude” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,642
- “precede” frequency rank
- #27,971
- “preclude” frequency rank
- 62613
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | precede | preclude |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To go before, go in front of. | To remove the possibility of; to rule out; to prevent or exclude; to render impossible. |
Where the eye mixes precede and preclude
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: precede vs preclude
A purely visual mix-up. precede (/pɹɪˈsiːd/) and preclude (/pɹɪˈkluːd/) 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 62613, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
precede is recorded at frequency rank #34,642, classified as averb, pronounced /pɹɪˈsiːd/. preclude is at rank #27,971, tagged as averb, pronounced /pɹɪˈkluːd/.
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 62613, this pair ranks #87,511 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of precede vs preclude
Shared letters: cdepr. Private to "precede": -. Private to "preclude": lu.
"precede" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV · "preclude" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "precede" and "preclude" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "precede" vs "preclude" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "precede" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "preclude" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #87,511 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "precede" and "preclude" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "precede vs precept". 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 #87,511 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.