sate vs smite, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“sate” and “smite” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#48,469
“sate” frequency rank: #31,767
“smite” frequency rank: 80236
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	sate	smite
Definition	To satisfy the appetite or desire of; to fill up.	To hit; to strike.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sate and smite apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

sate

5 ch

smite

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. sate (/seɪt/) and smite (/smaɪt/) 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 80236, 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/. smite is at rank #31,767, tagged as averb, pronounced /smaɪt/.

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 80236, this pair ranks #20,240 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of sate vs smite

Shared letters: est. Private to "sate": a. Private to "smite": im.

"sate" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "smite" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

sate ← aste · ssate · stae
smite ← msite · simte · smiet · smitte · smmite · smtie · ssmite

Frequency comparison

sate#48,469

smite#31,767

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sate" and "smite" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/seɪt/ versus /smaɪt/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "sate" or "smite"?

"smite" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,767 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 smite

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
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