veracityvsverityWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#31,397
“veracity” frequency rank
#36,390
“verity” frequency rank
67787
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature veracity verity
Definition The quality of speaking or stating the truth; truthfulness. Truth, fact or reality, especially an enduring religious or ethical truth; veracity.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set veracity and verity apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
veracity
6 ch
verity

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. veracity (/vəˈɹæ.sɪ.ti/) and verity (/ˈvɛɹɪti/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67787, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

veracity is recorded at frequency rank #31,397, classified as anoun, pronounced /vəˈɹæ.sɪ.ti/. verity is at rank #36,390, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈvɛɹɪti/.

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 67787, this pair ranks #61,750 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of veracity vs verity

Shared letters: eirtvy. Private to "veracity": ac. Private to "verity": -.

"veracity" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV  ·  "verity" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • veracityevracity · vearcity · veraccity · veracitty · veracityy · veraciyt · veractiy · veraicty
  • verityevrity · veirty · veritty · verityy · veriyt · verrity · vertiy · vreity

Frequency comparison

veracity#31,397
verity#36,390

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "veracity" and "verity" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/vəˈɹæ.sɪ.ti/ versus /ˈvɛɹɪti/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "veracity" or "verity"?
"veracity" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,397 in our English list, against #36,390 for "verity". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering veracity vs verity

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list