Which to use
“promise” and “promises” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,009
- “promise” frequency rank
- #4,701
- “promises” frequency rank
- 6710
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | promise | promises |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An oath or affirmation; a vow. | plural of promise |
Where the eye mixes promise and promises
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. promise 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.
Visual trap between promise and promises
A purely visual mix-up. promise (/ˈpɹɒmɪs/) 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 extra letter(s) - “promise” sits inside “promises”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6710, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
promise is recorded at frequency rank #2,009, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɹɒmɪs/. 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 6710, this pair ranks #510,296 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of promise vs promises
Shared letters: eimoprs. Private to "promise": -. Private to "promises": -.
"promise" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV · "promises" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "promise" for "promises" ever safe?
Frequency check: "promise" vs "promises" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "promise" 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 #510,296 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "promise" and "promises" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "promise vs proviso". 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 #510,296 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.