Which to use
“ultima” is a noun and “ultra” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,623
- “ultima” frequency rank
- #4,906
- “ultra” frequency rank
- 44529
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ultima | ultra |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The final syllable of a word. | Extreme; far beyond the norm; fanatical; uncompromising. |
Where the eye mixes ultima and ultra
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. ultima runs 6 letters (VCCVCV) against ultra's 5 (VCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ultima with ultra
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ultima is /ˈʌltɪmə/ while ultra is /ˈʌltɹə/. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44529, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ultima is recorded at frequency rank #39,623, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈʌltɪmə/. ultra is at rank #4,906, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈʌltɹə/.
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 44529, this pair ranks #229,673 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ultima vs ultra
Shared letters: altu. Private to "ultima": im. Private to "ultra": r.
"ultima" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "ultra" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ultima" for "ultra" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ultima" vs "ultra" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "ultima" and "ultra" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ultima" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ultra" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #229,673 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ultima" and "ultra" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ultima vs ultimo". 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 #229,673 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.