Which to use
“sear” is an adjective and “sens” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #41,374
- “sear” frequency rank
- #21,357
- “sens” frequency rank
- 62731
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sear | sens |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dry; withered, especially of vegetation. | Clipping of sensitivity. |
Letter map: sear vs sens
Shared letters muted; letters that set sear and sens apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Role in the sentence - sear and sens
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: sear is anadjective and sensanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62731, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sear is recorded at frequency rank #41,374, classified as anadj, pronounced /sɪɚ/. sens is at rank #21,357, tagged as anoun.
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 62731, this pair ranks #86,831 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of sear vs sens
Shared letters: es. Private to "sear": ar. Private to "sens": n.
"sear" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "sens" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sear" for "sens" ever safe?
Frequency check: "sear" vs "sens" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "sear" and "sens".
- Full dictionary entry for "sear" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sens" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #86,831 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sear" and "sens" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Seager vs sear". 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 #86,831 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.