Which to use
“state” is a noun and “stately” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #163
- “state” frequency rank
- #24,600
- “stately” frequency rank
- 24763
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | state | stately |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A condition; a set of circumstances applying at any given time. | Worthy of respect; dignified, regal. |
Where the eye mixes state and stately
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between state and stately
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: state is /steɪt/ while stately is /ˈsteɪtli/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “state” sits inside “stately”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24763, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
state is recorded at frequency rank #163, classified as anoun, pronounced /steɪt/. stately is at rank #24,600, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈsteɪtli/.
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 24763, this pair ranks #399,494 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of state vs stately
Shared letters: aest. Private to "state": -. Private to "stately": ly.
"state" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "stately" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "state" and "stately" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "state" or "stately" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "state" and "stately" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "state" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stately" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #399,494 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "state" and "stately" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "starkly vs stately". 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 #399,494 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.