Which to use
“wield” is a verb and “wilds” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,267
- “wield” frequency rank
- #33,088
- “wilds” frequency rank
- 55355
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wield | wilds |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To handle with skill and ease, especially a weapon or tool. | plural of wild |
Letter map: wield vs wilds
Shared letters muted; letters that set wield and wilds apart highlighted. Shared run: 4.
Role in the sentence - wield and wilds
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: wield is averb and wildsanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55355, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wield is recorded at frequency rank #22,267, classified as averb, pronounced /wiːld/. wilds is at rank #33,088, tagged as anoun.
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 55355, this pair ranks #134,241 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of wield vs wilds
Shared letters: dilw. Private to "wield": e. Private to "wilds": s.
"wield" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "wilds" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wield" for "wilds" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "wield" or "wilds" show up more?
After this comparison
Pair "wield" vs "wilds" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "wield" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wilds" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #134,241 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wield" and "wilds" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wilds vs wile". 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 #134,241 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.