setlistvssexistTell them apart

Quick tell: setlist is a noun, sexist is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“setlist” is a noun and “sexist” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#32,587
“setlist” frequency rank
#12,681
“sexist” frequency rank
45268
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature setlist sexist
Definition A list of the songs to be played by a particular band or musical act for a particular show or tour. Unfairly discriminatory against one sex in favour of the other.

Where the eye mixes setlist and sexist

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. setlist runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against sexist's 6 (CVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
setlist
6 ch
sexist

Why the eye confuses setlist with sexist

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: setlist is /ˈsɛtˌlɪst/ while sexist is /ˈsɛksɪst/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45268, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

setlist is recorded at frequency rank #32,587, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈsɛtˌlɪst/. sexist is at rank #12,681, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈsɛksɪst/.

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 45268, this pair ranks #222,833 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of setlist vs sexist

Shared letters: eist. Private to "setlist": l. Private to "sexist": x.

"setlist" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "sexist" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • setlistestlist · seltist · setilst · setlisst · setlistt · setlits · setllist · setlsit
  • sexistesxist · seixst · sexisst · sexistt · sexits · sexsit · sexxist · ssexist

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "setlist" and "sexist" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "setlist" is a noun and "sexist" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary English text, does "setlist" or "sexist" show up more?
"sexist" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,681 in our English list, against #32,587 for "setlist". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "setlist" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sexist" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #222,833 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "setlist" and "sexist" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sadist vs sexist". 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 #222,833 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list