Which to use
“waite” is a verb and “wraith” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,281
- “waite” frequency rank
- #28,091
- “wraith” frequency rank
- 58372
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | waite | wraith |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Archaic spelling of wait. | A ghost or specter, especially a person's likeness seen just after their death. |
Letter map: waite vs wraith
Shared letters muted; letters that set waite and wraith apart highlighted. Shared run: 4.
Grammar separator: waite vs wraith
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: waite is averb and wraithanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58372, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
waite is recorded at frequency rank #30,281, classified as averb. wraith is at rank #28,091, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹeɪθ/.
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 58372, this pair ranks #113,009 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of waite vs wraith
Shared letters: aitw. Private to "waite": e. Private to "wraith": hr.
"waite" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "wraith" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "waite" and "wraith" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "waite" or "wraith"?
What to do next
You've compared "waite" and "wraith". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "waite" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wraith" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #113,009 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "waite" and "wraith" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "waifu vs waite". 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 #113,009 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.