Which to use
“shears” is a noun and “swear” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,016
- “shears” frequency rank
- #2,968
- “swear” frequency rank
- 35984
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | shears | swear |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of shear | To take an oath, to promise intensely, solemnly, and/or with legally binding effect. |
Where the eye mixes shears and swear
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: shears vs swear
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: shears is /ʃɪə(ɹ)z/ while swear is /ˈswɛə(ɹ)/. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35984, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
shears is recorded at frequency rank #33,016, classified as anoun, pronounced /ʃɪə(ɹ)z/. swear is at rank #2,968, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈswɛə(ɹ)/.
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 35984, this pair ranks #307,212 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of shears vs swear
Shared letters: aers. Private to "shears": h. Private to "swear": w.
"shears" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC · "swear" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "shears" for "swear" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "shears" or "swear" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "shears" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "swear" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #307,212 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "shears" and "swear" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sheaf vs shears". 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 #307,212 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.