Which to use
“Provo” is a name and “proxy” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,650
- “Provo” frequency rank
- #10,749
- “proxy” frequency rank
- 45399
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Provo | proxy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A Dutch counterculture movement of the 1960s. | Used as a proxy or acting as a proxy. |
Where the eye mixes Provo and proxy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Provo vs proxy
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Provo is /ˈpɹəʊ.vəʊ/ while proxy is /ˈpɹɒk.si/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45399, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Provo is recorded at frequency rank #34,650, classified as aname, pronounced /ˈpɹəʊ.vəʊ/. proxy is at rank #10,749, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈpɹɒk.si/.
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 45399, this pair ranks #221,600 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Provo vs proxy
Shared letters: opr. Private to "Provo": v. Private to "proxy": xy.
"Provo" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "proxy" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Provo" and "proxy" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Provo" vs "proxy" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Provo" and "proxy" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Provo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "proxy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #221,600 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Provo" and "proxy" 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 #221,600 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.