Which to use
“sanction” and “section” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,582
- “sanction” frequency rank
- #1,097
- “section” frequency rank
- 17679
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sanction | section |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An approval, by an authority, generally one that makes something valid. | A cutting; a part cut out from the rest of something. |
Where the eye mixes sanction and section
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sanction vs section
A purely visual mix-up. sanction (/ˈsæŋkʃ(ə)n/) and section (/ˈsɛkʃən/) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17679, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sanction is recorded at frequency rank #16,582, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈsæŋkʃ(ə)n/. section is at rank #1,097, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈsɛkʃən/.
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 17679, this pair ranks #449,849 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sanction vs section
Shared letters: cinost. Private to "sanction": a. Private to "section": e.
"sanction" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVC · "section" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sanction" and "section" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "sanction" or "section" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sanction" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "section" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #449,849 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sanction" and "section" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Seaton vs section". 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 #449,849 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.