satevsslaterWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: sate is a verb, slater is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sate” is a verb and “slater” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#48,469
“sate” frequency rank
#15,910
“slater” frequency rank
64379
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sate slater
Definition To satisfy the appetite or desire of; to fill up. One who lays slates, or whose occupation is to slate buildings.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sate and slater apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
sate
6 ch
slater

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sate is /seɪt/ while slater is /ˈsleɪtɚ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64379, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sate is recorded at frequency rank #48,469, classified as averb, pronounced /seɪt/. slater is at rank #15,910, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈsleɪtɚ/.

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 64379, this pair ranks #78,047 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of sate vs slater

Shared letters: aest. Private to "sate": -. Private to "slater": lr.

"sate" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "slater" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sateaste · ssate · stae
  • slaterlsater · slaetr · slaterr · slatre · slatter · sllater · sltaer · sslater

Frequency comparison

sate#48,469
slater#15,910

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sate" and "slater" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sate" is a verb and "slater" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sate" or "slater"?
"slater" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,910 in our English list, against #48,469 for "sate". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sate vs slater

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “sate”; for a noun, it's “slater”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sate” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list