Which to use
“security” and “severity” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #641
- “security” frequency rank
- #11,114
- “severity” frequency rank
- 11755
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | security | severity |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The condition of not being threatened, especially physically, psychologically, emotionally, or financially. | The state of being severe. |
Where the eye mixes security and severity
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses security with severity
A purely visual mix-up. security (/sɪˈkjʊə.ɹə.ti/) and severity (/sɪˈvɛɹɪti/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11755, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
security is recorded at frequency rank #641, classified as anoun, pronounced /sɪˈkjʊə.ɹə.ti/. severity is at rank #11,114, tagged as anoun, pronounced /sɪˈvɛɹɪti/.
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 11755, this pair ranks #485,317 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of security vs severity
Shared letters: eirsty. Private to "security": cu. Private to "severity": v.
"security" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV · "severity" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "security" for "severity" ever safe?
Frequency check: "security" vs "severity" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "security" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "severity" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #485,317 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "security" and "severity" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "severing vs severity". 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 #485,317 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.