Which to use
“stares” is a noun and “stokes” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,214
- “stares” frequency rank
- #13,617
- “stokes” frequency rank
- 32831
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stares | stokes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of stare | third-person singular simple present indicative of stoke |
Letter map: stares vs stokes
Shared letters muted; letters that set stares and stokes apart highlighted. Shared run: 4. stares and stokes follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Role in the sentence - stares and stokes
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: stares is anoun and stokesaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32831, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stares is recorded at frequency rank #19,214, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈstɛəz/. stokes is at rank #13,617, tagged as averb.
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 32831, this pair ranks #334,545 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of stares vs stokes
Shared letters: est. Private to "stares": ar. Private to "stokes": ko.
"stares" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "stokes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "stares" and "stokes" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "stares" or "stokes" show up more?
What to do next
Pair "stares" vs "stokes" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "stares" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stokes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #334,545 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stares" and "stokes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stares vs staves". 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 #334,545 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.