Which to use
“word” and “wound” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #555
- “word” frequency rank
- #4,814
- “wound” frequency rank
- 5369
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | word | wound |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The smallest unit of language that has a particular meaning and can be expressed by itself; the smallest discrete, meaningful unit of language. (contrast morpheme.) | An injury, such as a cut, stab, or tear, to a (usually external) part of the body. |
Where the eye mixes word and wound
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. word (/wɜːd/) and wound (/wuːnd/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5369, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
word is recorded at frequency rank #555, classified as anoun, pronounced /wɜːd/. wound is at rank #4,814, tagged as anoun, pronounced /wuːnd/.
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 5369, this pair ranks #515,596 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of word vs wound
Shared letters: dow. Private to "word": r. Private to "wound": nu.
"word" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "wound" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC