automate vs automates, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“automate” and “automates” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#30,063
“automate” frequency rank: #31,358
“automates” frequency rank: 61421
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	automate	automates
Definition	Qui se meut soi-même.	Pluriel de automate.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set automate and automates apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

automate

9 ch

automates

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. automate (\o.to.mat\) and automates (\ɔ.tɔ.mat\) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “automate” sits inside “automates”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61421, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

automate is recorded at frequency rank #30,063, classified as anadj, pronounced \o.to.mat\. automates is at rank #31,358, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɔ.tɔ.mat\.

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 61421, this pair ranks #92,389 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of automate vs automates

Shared letters: aemotu. Private to "automate": -. Private to "automates": s.

"automate" · 8 letters · shape VVCVCVCV · "automates" · 9 letters · shape VVCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

automate ← atuomate · auotmate · autmoate · autoamte · automaet · automatte · autommate · automtae
automates ← atuomates · auotmates · autmoates · autoamtes · automaets · automatess · automatse · automattes

Frequency comparison

automate#30,063

automates#31,358

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "automate" and "automates" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (\o.to.mat\ versus \ɔ.tɔ.mat\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "automate" or "automates"?

"automate" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,063 in our French list, against #31,358 for "automates". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering automate vs automates

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “automate” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable