Which to use
“scenes” and “sexes” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,596
- “scenes” frequency rank
- #16,583
- “sexes” frequency rank
- 19179
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | scenes | sexes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of scene | plural of sex |
Where the eye mixes scenes and sexes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. scenes runs 6 letters (CCVCVC) against sexes's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses scenes with sexes
A purely visual mix-up. scenes (/siːnz/) and sexes (/ˈsɛksɪz/) 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 19179, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
scenes is recorded at frequency rank #2,596, classified as anoun, pronounced /siːnz/. sexes is at rank #16,583, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈsɛksɪz/.
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 19179, this pair ranks #439,953 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of scenes vs sexes
Shared letters: es. Private to "scenes": cn. Private to "sexes": x.
"scenes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "sexes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "scenes" and "sexes" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "scenes" vs "sexes" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "scenes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sexes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #439,953 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "scenes" and "sexes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seep vs sexes". 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 #439,953 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.