Which to use
“wordy” is an adjective and “worry” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #49,727
- “wordy” frequency rank
- #1,548
- “worry” frequency rank
- 51275
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wordy | worry |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Using an excessive number of words. | To be troubled; to give way to mental anxiety or doubt. |
Where the eye mixes wordy and worry
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: wordy is /ˈwɝdi/ while worry is /ˈwʌ.ɹi/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “wordy” becomes r in “worry”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51275, 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/. worry is at rank #1,548, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈwʌ.ɹi/.
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 51275, this pair ranks #166,863 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wordy vs worry
Shared letters: orwy. Private to "wordy": d. Private to "worry": -.
"wordy" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "worry" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV