Which to use
“premise” and “premises” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,384
- “premise” frequency rank
- #6,951
- “premises” frequency rank
- 16335
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | premise | premises |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A proposition antecedently supposed or proved; something previously stated or assumed as the basis of further argument; a condition; a supposition. | plural of premise |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set premise and premises apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. premise (/ˈpɹɛm.ɪs/) and premises (/ˈpɹɛmɪsɪz/) 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 extra letter(s) - “premise” sits inside “premises”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16335, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
premise is recorded at frequency rank #9,384, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɹɛm.ɪs/. premises is at rank #6,951, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɹɛmɪsɪz/.
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 16335, this pair ranks #458,394 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of premise vs premises
Shared letters: eimprs. Private to "premise": -. Private to "premises": -.
"premise" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV · "premises" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "premise" and "premises" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "premise" or "premises"?
Remembering premise vs premises
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “premise” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable