Which to use
“sic” is an adverb and “STL” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,132
- “sic” frequency rank
- #48,211
- “STL” frequency rank
- 59343
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sic | STL |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tel que cela a été dit ou écrit, sans modification, aussi étrange ou incorrect que cela paraisse. Il s’utilise le plus souvent en italique et entre crochets pour confirmer l’exactitude de la citation d’un texte, même dans le cas d’une erreur manifeste, d’une faute de langue ou de propos choquants. | Une des huit séries du baccalauréat technologique, couvrant deux années de préparation avant le baccalauréat. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sic and STL apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sic is \sik\ while STL is \ɛs.te.ɛl\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59343, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sic is recorded at frequency rank #11,132, classified as anadv, pronounced \sik\. STL is at rank #48,211, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛs.te.ɛl\.
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 59343, this pair ranks #103,680 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of sic vs STL
Shared letters: s. Private to "sic": ci. Private to "STL": lt.
"sic" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "STL" · 3 letters · shape CCC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sic" and "STL" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "sic" or "STL"?
Remembering sic vs STL
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “sic”; for a noun, it's “STL”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sic” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable