Which to use
“temper” is a noun and “tempt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,551
- “temper” frequency rank
- #21,957
- “tempt” frequency rank
- 31508
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | temper | tempt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A general tendency or orientation towards a certain type of mood, a volatile state; a habitual way of thinking, behaving or reacting. | To provoke someone to do wrong, especially by promising a reward; to entice. |
Where the eye mixes temper and tempt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: temper vs tempt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: temper is /ˈtɛmpə/ while tempt is /tɛmpt/. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31508, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
temper is recorded at frequency rank #9,551, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɛmpə/. tempt is at rank #21,957, tagged as averb, pronounced /tɛmpt/.
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 31508, this pair ranks #345,518 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of temper vs tempt
Shared letters: empt. Private to "temper": r. Private to "tempt": -.
"temper" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "tempt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "temper" and "tempt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "temper" or "tempt"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "temper" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tempt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #345,518 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "temper" and "tempt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tempt vs tet". 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 #345,518 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.