thrillingvstrollingWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“thrilling” and “trolling” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#12,875
“thrilling” frequency rank
#16,373
“trolling” frequency rank
29248
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature thrilling trolling
Definition present participle and gerund of thrill present participle and gerund of troll

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set thrilling and trolling apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
thrilling
8 ch
trolling

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. thrilling (/ˈθɹɪlɪŋ/) and trolling (/ˈtɹɒlɪŋ/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29248, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

thrilling is recorded at frequency rank #12,875, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈθɹɪlɪŋ/. trolling is at rank #16,373, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈtɹɒlɪŋ/.

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 29248, this pair ranks #364,589 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of thrilling vs trolling

Shared letters: gilnrt. Private to "thrilling": h. Private to "trolling": o.

"thrilling" · 9 letters · shape CCCVCCVCC  ·  "trolling" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • thrillinghtrilling · thhrilling · thirlling · thrililng · thriling · thrillign · thrillingg · thrillinng
  • trollingrtolling · torlling · trloling · trolilng · troling · trollign · trollingg · trollinng

Frequency comparison

thrilling#12,875
trolling#16,373

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "thrilling" and "trolling" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈθɹɪlɪŋ/ versus /ˈtɹɒlɪŋ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "thrilling" or "trolling"?
"thrilling" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,875 in our English list, against #16,373 for "trolling". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering thrilling vs trolling

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “thrilling” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list