Which to use
“wordy” is an adjective and “wore” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #49,727
- “wordy” frequency rank
- #4,422
- “wore” frequency rank
- 54149
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wordy | wore |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Using an excessive number of words. | simple past of wear |
Where the eye mixes wordy and wore
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. wordy runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against wore's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses wordy with wore
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wordy is /ˈwɝdi/ while wore is /wɔː/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54149, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wordy is recorded at frequency rank #49,727, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈwɝdi/. wore is at rank #4,422, tagged as averb, pronounced /wɔː/.
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 54149, this pair ranks #143,305 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wordy vs wore
Shared letters: orw. Private to "wordy": dy. Private to "wore": e.
"wordy" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "wore" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "wordy" and "wore" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "wordy" or "wore" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "wordy" and "wore" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "wordy" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wore" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #143,305 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wordy" and "wore" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wold vs wordy". 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 #143,305 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.