Which to use
“sensation” and “sensations” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,346
- “sensation” frequency rank
- #19,968
- “sensations” frequency rank
- 28314
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sensation | sensations |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A physical feeling or perception from something that comes into contact with the body; something sensed. | plural of sensation |
Where the eye mixes sensation and sensations
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. sensation runs 9 letters (CVCCVCVVC) against sensations's 10 (CVCCVCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: sensation vs sensations
A purely visual mix-up. sensation (/sɛnˈseɪʃən/) and sensations (/sɛnˈseɪʃənz/) 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 extra letter(s) - “sensation” sits inside “sensations”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28314, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sensation is recorded at frequency rank #8,346, classified as anoun, pronounced /sɛnˈseɪʃən/. sensations is at rank #19,968, tagged as anoun, pronounced /sɛnˈseɪʃənz/.
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 28314, this pair ranks #372,074 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sensation vs sensations
Shared letters: aeinost. Private to "sensation": -. Private to "sensations": -.
"sensation" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC · "sensations" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- sensation ← esnsation · senastion · sennsation · sensaiton · sensasion · sensatino · sensationn · sensatoin
- sensations ← esnsations · senastions · sennsations · sensaitons · sensatinos · sensationns · sensationss · sensatiosn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sensation" for "sensations" ever safe?
Which is more common, "sensation" or "sensations"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "sensation" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sensations" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #372,074 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sensation" and "sensations" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sedation vs sensation". 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 #372,074 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.