Which to use
“pulling” and “pulsing” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,971
- “pulling” frequency rank
- #34,241
- “pulsing” frequency rank
- 38212
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pulling | pulsing |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of pull | present participle and gerund of pulse |
Where the eye mixes pulling and pulsing
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: pulling vs pulsing
A purely visual mix-up. pulling (/ˈpʊlɪŋ/) and pulsing (/ˈpʌlsɪŋ/) 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 a single letter - l in “pulling” becomes s in “pulsing”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38212, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pulling is recorded at frequency rank #3,971, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈpʊlɪŋ/. pulsing is at rank #34,241, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈpʌlsɪŋ/.
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 38212, this pair ranks #287,895 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pulling vs pulsing
Shared letters: gilnpu. Private to "pulling": -. Private to "pulsing": s.
"pulling" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "pulsing" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pulling" for "pulsing" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "pulling" or "pulsing" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pulling" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pulsing" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #287,895 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pulling" and "pulsing" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pulsing vs punting". 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 #287,895 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.