Which to use
“wraith” and “writ” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,091
- “wraith” frequency rank
- #19,743
- “writ” frequency rank
- 47834
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wraith | writ |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A ghost or specter, especially a person's likeness seen just after their death. | A written order, issued by a court, ordering someone to do (or stop doing) something. |
Where the eye mixes wraith and writ
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between wraith and writ
A purely visual mix-up. wraith (/ɹeɪθ/) and writ (/ɹɪt/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47834, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wraith is recorded at frequency rank #28,091, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɹeɪθ/. writ is at rank #19,743, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹɪt/.
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 47834, this pair ranks #198,767 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wraith vs writ
Shared letters: irtw. Private to "wraith": ah. Private to "writ": -.
"wraith" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC · "writ" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "wraith" and "writ" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "wraith" vs "writ" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "wraith" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "writ" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #198,767 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wraith" and "writ" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wim vs writ". 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 #198,767 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.