Which to use
“promise” and “proviso” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,009
- “promise” frequency rank
- #45,016
- “proviso” frequency rank
- 47025
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | promise | proviso |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An oath or affirmation; a vow. | A conditional provision to an agreement. |
Where the eye mixes promise and proviso
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. promise and proviso follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses promise with proviso
A purely visual mix-up. promise (/ˈpɹɒmɪs/) and proviso (/pɹəˈvaɪzoʊ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47025, 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/. proviso is at rank #45,016, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pɹəˈvaɪzoʊ/.
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 47025, this pair ranks #206,261 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of promise vs proviso
Shared letters: ioprs. Private to "promise": em. Private to "proviso": v.
"promise" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV · "proviso" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "promise" and "proviso" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "promise" or "proviso"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "promise" and "proviso" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "promise" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "proviso" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #206,261 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "promise" and "proviso" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "proviso vs Provo". 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 #206,261 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.