Which to use
“wilt” is a verb and “wolf” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,980
- “wilt” frequency rank
- #3,995
- “wolf” frequency rank
- 25975
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wilt | wolf |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To droop or become limp and flaccid (as a dying leaf or flower). | Canis lupus; the largest wild member of the canine subfamily. |
Where the eye mixes wilt and wolf
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between wilt and wolf
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wilt is /wɪlt/ while wolf is /wʊlf/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25975, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wilt is recorded at frequency rank #21,980, classified as averb, pronounced /wɪlt/. wolf is at rank #3,995, tagged as anoun, pronounced /wʊlf/.
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 25975, this pair ranks #390,172 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wilt vs wolf
Shared letters: lw. Private to "wilt": it. Private to "wolf": fo.
"wilt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "wolf" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "wilt" for "wolf" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "wilt" or "wolf" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "wilt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wolf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #390,172 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wilt" and "wolf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wilt vs wilted". 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 #390,172 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.