Which to use
“excuse” is a noun and “expulse” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,422
- “excuse” frequency rank
- #33,255
- “expulse” frequency rank
- 35677
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | excuse | expulse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Raison que l’on allègue pour expliquer ou atténuer une faute. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de expulser. |
Where the eye mixes excuse and expulse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses excuse with expulse
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: excuse is \ɛks.kyz\ while expulse is \ɛk.spyls\. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35677, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
excuse is recorded at frequency rank #2,422, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛks.kyz\. expulse is at rank #33,255, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛk.spyls\.
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 35677, this pair ranks #275,023 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of excuse vs expulse
Shared letters: esux. Private to "excuse": c. Private to "expulse": lp.
"excuse" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "expulse" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "excuse" and "expulse" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "excuse" vs "expulse" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "excuse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "expulse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #275,023 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "excuse" and "expulse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "expulse vs exquise". 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 #275,023 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.