Which to use
“shrew” is a noun and “spew” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,560
- “shrew” frequency rank
- #33,028
- “spew” frequency rank
- 72588
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | shrew | spew |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Any of numerous small, mouselike, chiefly nocturnal, mammals of the family Soricidae. | To eject forcibly and in a stream, |
Where the eye mixes shrew and spew
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. shrew runs 5 letters (CCCVC) against spew's 4 (CCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between shrew and spew
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: shrew is /ʃɹuː/ while spew is /spjuː/. 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 72588, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
shrew is recorded at frequency rank #39,560, classified as anoun, pronounced /ʃɹuː/. spew is at rank #33,028, tagged as averb, pronounced /spjuː/.
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 72588, this pair ranks #42,537 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of shrew vs spew
Shared letters: esw. Private to "shrew": hr. Private to "spew": p.
"shrew" · 5 letters · shape CCCVC · "spew" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "shrew" for "spew" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "shrew" or "spew" 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 "shrew" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spew" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #42,537 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "shrew" and "spew" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Shek vs shrew". 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 #42,537 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.