wordyvsworldsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: wordy is a adjective, worlds is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“wordy” is an adjective and “worlds” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#49,727
“wordy” frequency rank
#4,910
“worlds” frequency rank
54637
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wordy worlds
Definition Using an excessive number of words. plural of world

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set wordy and worlds apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
wordy
6 ch
worlds

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wordy is /ˈwɝdi/ while worlds is /wɝldz/. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54637, 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/. worlds is at rank #4,910, tagged as anoun, pronounced /wɝldz/.

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 54637, this pair ranks #139,564 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of wordy vs worlds

Shared letters: dorw. Private to "wordy": y. Private to "worlds": ls.

"wordy" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "worlds" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wordyowrdy · wodry · worddy · wordyy · worrdy · woryd · wrody · wwordy
  • worldsowrlds · wolrds · wordls · worldds · worldss · worllds · worlsd · worrlds

Frequency comparison

wordy#49,727
worlds#4,910

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wordy" and "worlds" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "wordy" is an adjective and "worlds" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "wordy" or "worlds"?
"worlds" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,910 in our English list, against #49,727 for "wordy". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering wordy vs worlds

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “wordy”; for a noun, it's “worlds”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “wordy” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list