Which to use
“sullen” is an adjective and “sully” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #41,399
- “sullen” frequency rank
- #25,227
- “sully” frequency rank
- 66626
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sullen | sully |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Having a brooding ill temper; sulky. | To soil or stain; to dirty. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sullen and sully apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sullen is /ˈsʌlən/ while sully is /ˈsʌli/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66626, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sullen is recorded at frequency rank #41,399, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈsʌlən/. 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 66626, this pair ranks #67,137 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of sullen vs sully
Shared letters: lsu. Private to "sullen": en. Private to "sully": y.
"sullen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "sully" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sullen" and "sully" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "sullen" or "sully"?
Remembering sullen vs sully
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “sullen”; for a verb, it's “sully”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sullen” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable