verifyvsverityWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: verify is a verb, verity is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“verify” is a verb and “verity” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,623
“verify” frequency rank
#36,390
“verity” frequency rank
45013
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verify verity
Definition To substantiate or prove the truth of something. Truth, fact or reality, especially an enduring religious or ethical truth; veracity.

Where the eye mixes verify and verity

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
verify
6 ch
verity

Why the eye confuses verify with verity

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: verify is /ˈvɛɹɪfaɪ/ while verity is /ˈvɛɹɪti/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - f in “verify” becomes t in “verity”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45013, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verify is recorded at frequency rank #8,623, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈvɛɹɪfaɪ/. 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 45013, this pair ranks #225,243 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verify vs verity

Shared letters: eirvy. Private to "verify": f. Private to "verity": t.

"verify" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "verity" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verifyevrify · veirfy · verfiy · veriffy · verifyy · veriyf · verrify · vreify
  • verityevrity · veirty · veritty · verityy · veriyt · verrity · vertiy · vreity

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "verify" and "verity" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "verify" is a verb and "verity" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "verify" or "verity"?
"verify" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,623 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.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "verify" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "verity" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #225,243 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "verify" and "verity" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "verily vs verity". 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 #225,243 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list