Which to use
“vary” is a verb and “very” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,724
- “vary” frequency rank
- #106
- “very” frequency rank
- 4830
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vary | very |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To change with time or a similar parameter. | To a great extent or degree. |
Where the eye mixes vary and very
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vary is /ˈvɛəɹi/ while very is /ˈvɛɹi/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “vary” becomes e in “very”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4830, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vary is recorded at frequency rank #4,724, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈvɛəɹi/. very is at rank #106, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈvɛɹi/.
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 4830, this pair ranks #517,522 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of vary vs very
Shared letters: rvy. Private to "vary": a. Private to "very": e.
"vary" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "very" · 4 letters · shape CVCV