veer vs vex, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#28,420
“veer” frequency rank: #35,148
“vex” frequency rank: 63568
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	veer	vex
Definition	To let out (a sail-line), to allow (a sheet) to run out.	To annoy, irritate.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set veer and vex apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

veer

3 ch

vex

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. veer (/vɪə̯/) and vex (/vɛks/) 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 63568, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

veer is recorded at frequency rank #28,420, classified as averb, pronounced /vɪə̯/. vex is at rank #35,148, tagged as averb, pronounced /vɛks/.

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 63568, this pair ranks #82,252 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of veer vs vex

Shared letters: ev. Private to "veer": r. Private to "vex": x.

"veer" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "vex" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

veer ← veerr · ver · vere · vveer

Frequency comparison

veer#28,420

vex#35,148

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "veer" and "vex" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/vɪə̯/ versus /vɛks/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "veer" or "vex"?

"veer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,420 in our English list, against #35,148 for "vex". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering veer vs vex

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 “veer” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable