Which to use
“sear” is an adjective and “spat” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #41,374
- “sear” frequency rank
- #19,703
- “spat” frequency rank
- 61077
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sear | spat |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dry; withered, especially of vegetation. | simple past and past participle of spit |
Where the eye mixes sear and spat
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses sear with spat
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sear is /sɪɚ/ while spat is /spæt/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61077, 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/. spat is at rank #19,703, tagged as averb, pronounced /spæt/.
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 61077, this pair ranks #96,431 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of sear vs spat
Shared letters: as. Private to "sear": er. Private to "spat": pt.
"sear" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "spat" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sear" for "spat" ever safe?
Frequency check: "sear" vs "spat" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sear" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spat" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #96,431 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sear" and "spat" 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 #96,431 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.