Which to use
“veil” and “vel” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,994
- “veil” frequency rank
- #46,252
- “vel” frequency rank
- 58246
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | veil | vel |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Something hung up or spread out to hide or protect the face, or hide an object from view; usually of gauze, crepe, or similar diaphanous material. | The ∨ symbol used to represent the inclusive or, which is a logical connective. |
Letter map: veil vs vel
Shared letters muted; letters that set veil and vel apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.
Corpus notes: veil and vel
veil and vel are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58246, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
veil is recorded at frequency rank #11,994, classified as anoun, pronounced /veɪl/. vel is at rank #46,252, tagged as anoun.
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 58246, this pair ranks #113,819 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of veil vs vel
Shared letters: elv. Private to "veil": i. Private to "vel": -.
"veil" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "vel" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- veil ← veill · veli · viel · vveil
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "veil" for "vel" ever safe?
Which is more common, "veil" or "vel"?
After this comparison
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "veil" and "vel".
- Full dictionary entry for "veil" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #113,819 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "veil" and "vel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vel vs VH". 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 #113,819 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.