Which to use
“sting” and “stinks” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,674
- “sting” frequency rank
- #22,827
- “stinks” frequency rank
- 32501
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sting | stinks |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A bump left on the skin after having been stung. | Chemistry (as a subject taught in school). |
Letter map: sting vs stinks
Shared letters muted; letters that set sting and stinks apart highlighted. Shared run: 4.
Spelling & dictionary notes on sting vs stinks
sting and stinks 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32501, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sting is recorded at frequency rank #9,674, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈstɪŋ/. stinks is at rank #22,827, tagged as anoun.
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 32501, this pair ranks #337,284 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sting vs stinks
Shared letters: inst. Private to "sting": g. Private to "stinks": k.
"sting" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "stinks" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sting" and "stinks" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "sting" vs "stinks" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
You've compared "sting" and "stinks". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "sting" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stinks" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #337,284 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sting" and "stinks" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "slinky vs stinks". 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 #337,284 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.