Which to use
“snuck” and “sunk” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,502
- “snuck” frequency rank
- #10,617
- “sunk” frequency rank
- 31119
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | snuck | sunk |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of sneak | past participle of sink |
Where the eye mixes snuck and sunk
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: snuck vs sunk
A purely visual mix-up. snuck (/snʌk/) and sunk (/sʌŋk/) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31119, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
snuck is recorded at frequency rank #20,502, classified as averb, pronounced /snʌk/. sunk is at rank #10,617, tagged as averb, pronounced /sʌŋk/.
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 31119, this pair ranks #348,870 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of snuck vs sunk
Shared letters: knsu. Private to "snuck": c. Private to "sunk": -.
"snuck" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "sunk" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "snuck" for "sunk" ever safe?
Frequency check: "snuck" vs "sunk" - which ranks higher?
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 "snuck" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sunk" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #348,870 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "snuck" and "sunk" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "smock vs snuck". 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 #348,870 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.