warrantvswarringWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: warrant is a noun, warring is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“warrant” is a noun and “warring” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,812
“warrant” frequency rank
#24,355
“warring” frequency rank
29167
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature warrant warring
Definition Authorization or certification; a sanction, as given by a superior. engaged in war; belligerent

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set warrant and warring apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
warrant
7 ch
warring

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: warrant is anoun and warringanadjective. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29167, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

warrant is recorded at frequency rank #4,812, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈwɒɹənt/. warring is at rank #24,355, tagged as anadj.

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 29167, this pair ranks #365,274 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of warrant vs warring

Shared letters: anrw. Private to "warrant": t. Private to "warring": gi.

"warrant" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "warring" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • warrantawrrant · warant · wararnt · warrannt · warrantt · warratn · warrnat · wrarant
  • warringawrring · warirng · warrign · warringg · warrinng · warrnig · wraring · wwarring

Frequency comparison

warrant#4,812
warring#24,355

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "warrant" and "warring" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "warrant" is a noun and "warring" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "warrant" or "warring"?
"warrant" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,812 in our English list, against #24,355 for "warring". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering warrant vs warring

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “warrant”; for an adjective, it's “warring”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “warrant” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list