Which to use
“ratify” and “rating” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,306
- “ratify” frequency rank
- #3,329
- “rating” frequency rank
- 34635
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ratify | rating |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To give formal consent to; make officially valid, sign off on. | present participle and gerund of rate |
Where the eye mixes ratify and rating
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: ratify vs rating
A purely visual mix-up. ratify (/ˈɹætɪfaɪ/) and rating (/ˈɹeɪtɪŋ/) 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 34635, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ratify is recorded at frequency rank #31,306, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈɹætɪfaɪ/. rating is at rank #3,329, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈɹeɪtɪŋ/.
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 34635, this pair ranks #319,065 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ratify vs rating
Shared letters: airt. Private to "ratify": fy. Private to "rating": gn.
"ratify" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "rating" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ratify" and "rating" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "ratify" or "rating"?
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 "ratify" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rating" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #319,065 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ratify" and "rating" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ratify vs rectify". 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 #319,065 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.