Which to use
“scourge” and “source” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,807
- “scourge” frequency rank
- #743
- “source” frequency rank
- 23550
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | scourge | source |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A whip, often made of leather and having multiple tails; a lash. | The person, place, or thing from which something (information, goods, etc.) comes or is acquired. |
Where the eye mixes scourge and source
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between scourge and source
A purely visual mix-up. scourge (/skɜːd͡ʒ/) and source (/sɔːs/) 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 23550, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
scourge is recorded at frequency rank #22,807, classified as anoun, pronounced /skɜːd͡ʒ/. source is at rank #743, tagged as anoun, pronounced /sɔːs/.
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 23550, this pair ranks #408,504 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of scourge vs source
Shared letters: ceorsu. Private to "scourge": g. Private to "source": -.
"scourge" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCCV · "source" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "scourge" for "source" ever safe?
Which is more common, "scourge" or "source"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "scourge" and "source" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "scourge" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "source" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #408,504 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "scourge" and "source" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "scoured vs scourge". 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 #408,504 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.