Which to use
“premise” and “promises” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,384
- “premise” frequency rank
- #4,701
- “promises” frequency rank
- 14085
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | premise | promises |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A proposition antecedently supposed or proved; something previously stated or assumed as the basis of further argument; a condition; a supposition. | plural of promise |
Where the eye mixes premise and promises
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. premise runs 7 letters (CCVCVCV) against promises's 8 (CCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses premise with promises
A purely visual mix-up. premise (/ˈpɹɛm.ɪs/) and promises (/ˈpɹɑmɪsɪz/) 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 14085, 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/. promises is at rank #4,701, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɹɑmɪsɪz/.
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 14085, this pair ranks #472,135 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of premise vs promises
Shared letters: eimprs. Private to "premise": -. Private to "promises": o.
"premise" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV · "promises" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "premise" and "promises" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "premise" or "promises"?
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 "premise" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "promises" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #472,135 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "premise" and "promises" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "premise vs preside". 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 #472,135 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.