Which to use
“wordy” is an adjective and “works” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #49,727
- “wordy” frequency rank
- #522
- “works” frequency rank
- 50249
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wordy | works |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Using an excessive number of words. | plural of work in its countable senses |
Where the eye mixes wordy and works
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wordy is /ˈwɝdi/ while works is /wɜːks/. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50249, 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/. works is at rank #522, tagged as anoun, pronounced /wɜːks/.
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 50249, this pair ranks #175,986 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wordy vs works
Shared letters: orw. Private to "wordy": dy. Private to "works": ks.
"wordy" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "works" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC