Which to use
“wither” is a verb and “within” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,431
- “wither” frequency rank
- #351
- “within” frequency rank
- 28782
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wither | within |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To shrivel, droop or dry up, especially from lack of water. | In the inner part, spatially; physically inside. |
Where the eye mixes wither and within
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses wither with within
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wither is /ˈwɪðɚ/ while within is /wɪðˈɪn/. 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 preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28782, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wither is recorded at frequency rank #28,431, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈwɪðɚ/. within is at rank #351, tagged as aprep, pronounced /wɪðˈɪn/.
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 28782, this pair ranks #368,365 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wither vs within
Shared letters: hitw. Private to "wither": er. Private to "within": n.
"wither" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "within" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "wither" and "within" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "wither" vs "within" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "wither" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "within" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #368,365 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wither" and "within" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Wilmer vs wither". 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 #368,365 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.