weirdestvsweirdnessWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: weirdest is a adjective, weirdness is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#19,503
“weirdest” frequency rank
#32,243
“weirdness” frequency rank
51746
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature weirdest weirdness
Definition superlative form of weird: most weird (weird + -est) The state or quality of being weird.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set weirdest and weirdness apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
weirdest
9 ch
weirdness

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: weirdest is /ˈwɪə(ɹ)dəst/ while weirdness is /ˈwɪɚdnəs/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51746, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

weirdest is recorded at frequency rank #19,503, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈwɪə(ɹ)dəst/. weirdness is at rank #32,243, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈwɪɚdnəs/.

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 51746, this pair ranks #162,883 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of weirdest vs weirdness

Shared letters: deirsw. Private to "weirdest": t. Private to "weirdness": n.

"weirdest" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCC  ·  "weirdness" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • weirdestewirdest · weidrest · weirddest · weirdesst · weirdestt · weirdets · weirdset · weiredst
  • weirdnessewirdness · weidrness · weirddness · weirdenss · weirdnes · weirdnness · weirdnses · weirndess

Frequency comparison

weirdest#19,503
weirdness#32,243

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "weirdest" and "weirdness" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "weirdest" is an adjective and "weirdness" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "weirdest" or "weirdness"?
"weirdest" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,503 in our English list, against #32,243 for "weirdness". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering weirdest vs weirdness

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “weirdest”; for a noun, it's “weirdness”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “weirdest” 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