Which to use
“smarts” and “stares” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,974
- “smarts” frequency rank
- #19,214
- “stares” frequency rank
- 50188
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | smarts | stares |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | intelligence; smartness | plural of stare |
Letter map: smarts vs stares
Shared letters muted; letters that set smarts and stares apart highlighted. Shared run: 4. smarts (CCVCCC) and stares (CCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Spelling & dictionary notes on smarts vs stares
smarts and stares are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50188, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
smarts is recorded at frequency rank #30,974, classified as anoun. stares is at rank #19,214, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈstɛəz/.
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 50188, this pair ranks #176,557 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of smarts vs stares
Shared letters: arst. Private to "smarts": m. Private to "stares": e.
"smarts" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC · "stares" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "smarts" and "stares" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "smarts" or "stares" show up more?
After this comparison
You've compared "smarts" and "stares". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "smarts" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stares" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #176,557 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "smarts" and "stares" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "smartass vs smarts". 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 #176,557 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.