WilesvswiltWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Wiles is a name, wilt is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Wiles” is a name and “wilt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#41,472
“Wiles” frequency rank
#21,980
“wilt” frequency rank
63452
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Wiles wilt
Definition A surname transferred from the nickname. A patronymic form of Wile. To droop or become limp and flaccid (as a dying leaf or flower).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Wiles and wilt apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Wiles
4 ch
wilt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: Wiles is aname and wiltaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63452, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Wiles is recorded at frequency rank #41,472, classified as aname. wilt is at rank #21,980, tagged as averb, pronounced /wɪlt/.

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 63452, this pair ranks #82,877 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Wiles vs wilt

Shared letters: ilw. Private to "Wiles": es. Private to "wilt": t.

"Wiles" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "wilt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Wilesiwles · wiels · wiless · willes · wilse · wlies · wwiles
  • wiltiwlt · willt · wiltt · witl · wlit · wwilt

Frequency comparison

Wiles#41,472
wilt#21,980

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Wiles" and "wilt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Wiles" is a name and "wilt" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Wiles" or "wilt"?
"wilt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,980 in our English list, against #41,472 for "Wiles". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Wiles vs wilt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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