Which to use
“aggrave” is a noun and “aggraver” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,927
- “aggrave” frequency rank
- #15,297
- “aggraver” frequency rank
- 34224
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aggrave | aggraver |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Seconde fulmination solennelle d’un monitoire. | Rendre plus grave. |
Where the eye mixes aggrave and aggraver
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. aggrave runs 7 letters (VCCCVCV) against aggraver's 8 (VCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: aggrave vs aggraver
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: aggrave is \a.ɡʁav\ while aggraver is \a.ɡʁa.ve\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “aggrave” sits inside “aggraver”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34224, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aggrave is recorded at frequency rank #18,927, classified as anoun, pronounced \a.ɡʁav\. aggraver is at rank #15,297, tagged as averb, pronounced \a.ɡʁa.ve\.
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 34224, this pair ranks #285,310 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of aggrave vs aggraver
Shared letters: aegrv. Private to "aggrave": -. Private to "aggraver": -.
"aggrave" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCV · "aggraver" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "aggrave" for "aggraver" ever safe?
Which is more common, "aggrave" or "aggraver"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "aggrave" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aggraver" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #285,310 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aggrave" and "aggraver" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aggrave vs agrafe". 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 #285,310 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.