processionvsprogressionWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“procession” and “progression” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#13,589
“procession” frequency rank
#8,333
“progression” frequency rank
21922
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature procession progression
Definition The act of progressing or proceeding. The act of moving from one thing to another.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set procession and progression apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
procession
11 ch
progression

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

procession and progression form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21922, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

procession is recorded at frequency rank #13,589, classified as anoun, pronounced /pɹəˈsɛʃən/. progression is at rank #8,333, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pɹəˈɡɹɛʃn̩/.

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 21922, this pair ranks #420,378 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

procession#13,589
progression#8,333

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "procession" and "progression" be used interchangeably?
No, "procession" and "progression" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering procession vs progression

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 “procession” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list