Which to use
“theses” and “thesis” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,243
- “theses” frequency rank
- #6,636
- “thesis” frequency rank
- 28879
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | theses | thesis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of thesis | Senses relating to logic, rhetoric, etc. |
Where the eye mixes theses and thesis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: theses vs thesis
A purely visual mix-up. theses (/ˈθiːsiːz/) and thesis (/ˈθiːsɪs/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - e in “theses” becomes i in “thesis”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28879, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
theses is recorded at frequency rank #22,243, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈθiːsiːz/. thesis is at rank #6,636, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈθiːsɪs/.
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 28879, this pair ranks #367,561 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of theses vs thesis
Shared letters: ehst. Private to "theses": -. Private to "thesis": i.
"theses" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "thesis" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "theses" and "thesis" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "theses" or "thesis"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "theses" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "thesis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #367,561 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "theses" and "thesis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tenses vs theses". 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 #367,561 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.