Which to use
“tore” is an adjective and “torus” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,139
- “tore” frequency rank
- #49,104
- “torus” frequency rank
- 60243
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tore | torus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Hard, difficult; wearisome, tedious. | The standard representation of such a space in 3-dimensional Euclidean space: a surface or solid formed by rotating a closed curve, especially a circle, about a line which lies in the same plane but does not intersect it (e.g. like a ring doughnut). |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tore and torus apart are highlighted. They share 3 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: tore is /tɔː(ɹ)/ while torus is /ˈtɔː.ɹəs/. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60243, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tore is recorded at frequency rank #11,139, classified as anadj, pronounced /tɔː(ɹ)/. torus is at rank #49,104, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɔː.ɹəs/.
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 60243, this pair ranks #101,372 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of tore vs torus
Shared letters: ort. Private to "tore": e. Private to "torus": su.
"tore" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "torus" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tore" and "torus" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "tore" or "torus"?
Remembering tore vs torus
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “tore”; for a noun, it's “torus”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tore” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable