Which to use
“seize” and “sez” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,669
- “seize” frequency rank
- #49,041
- “sez” frequency rank
- 58710
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | seize | sez |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To deliberately take hold of; to grab or capture. | Eye dialect spelling of says. |
Where the eye mixes seize and sez
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: seize vs sez
A purely visual mix-up. seize (/siːz/) and sez (/sɛz/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58710, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
seize is recorded at frequency rank #9,669, classified as averb, pronounced /siːz/. sez is at rank #49,041, tagged as averb, pronounced /sɛz/.
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 58710, this pair ranks #110,816 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of seize vs sez
Shared letters: esz. Private to "seize": i. Private to "sez": -.
"seize" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "sez" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- seize ← esize · seiez · seizze · sezie · sieze · sseize
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "seize" for "sez" ever safe?
Which is more common, "seize" or "sez"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "seize" and "sez" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "seize" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #110,816 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "seize" and "sez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sez vs Sif". 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 #110,816 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.