Which to use
“Sul” is a name and “sully” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,868
- “Sul” frequency rank
- #25,227
- “sully” frequency rank
- 59095
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Sul | sully |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Diminutive of Sully. | To soil or stain; to dirty. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Sul and sully apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: Sul is aname and sullyaverb. On the page they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Sul” sits inside “sully”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59095, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Sul is recorded at frequency rank #33,868, classified as aname. sully is at rank #25,227, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈsʌli/.
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 59095, this pair ranks #108,357 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Sul vs sully
Shared letters: lsu. Private to "Sul": -. Private to "sully": y.
"Sul" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "sully" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- sully ← sluly · ssully · sullyy · suly · sulyl · uslly
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Sul" and "sully" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Sul" or "sully"?
Remembering Sul vs sully
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Sul”; for a verb, it's “sully”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Sul” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable