wildestvsWilkesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: wildest is a adjective, Wilkes is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“wildest” is an adjective and “Wilkes” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#21,424
“wildest” frequency rank
#20,544
“Wilkes” frequency rank
41968
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wildest Wilkes
Definition superlative form of wild: most wild A surname originating as a patronymic.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
wildest
6 ch
Wilkes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: wildest is anadjective and Wilkesaname. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41968, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wildest is recorded at frequency rank #21,424, classified as anadj. Wilkes is at rank #20,544, tagged as aname, pronounced /wɪlkiːs/.

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 41968, this pair ranks #253,518 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of wildest vs Wilkes

Shared letters: eilsw. Private to "wildest": dt. Private to "Wilkes": k.

"wildest" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "Wilkes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wildestiwldest · widlest · wilddest · wildesst · wildestt · wildets · wildset · wiledst
  • Wilkesiwlkes · wikles · wileks · wilkess · wilkkes · wilkse · willkes · wlikes

Frequency comparison

wildest#21,424
Wilkes#20,544

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wildest" and "Wilkes" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "wildest" is an adjective and "Wilkes" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "wildest" or "Wilkes"?
"Wilkes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,544 in our English list, against #21,424 for "wildest". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering wildest vs Wilkes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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