compulsão vs convulsão, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“compulsão” and “convulsão” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#28,909
“compulsão” frequency rank: #23,951
“convulsão” frequency rank: 52860
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	compulsão	convulsão
Definition	ato ou efeito de compelir	ato ou efeito de convulsar ou de convulsionar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set compulsão and convulsão apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch

compulsão

9 ch

convulsão

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

compulsão and convulsão are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52860, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

compulsão is recorded at frequency rank #28,909, classified as anoun, pronounced /kõ.puɫ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. convulsão is at rank #23,951, tagged as anoun.

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 52860, this pair ranks #12,446 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of compulsão vs convulsão

Shared letters: closuã. Private to "compulsão": mp. Private to "convulsão": nv.

"compulsão" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVV · "convulsão" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVV

Frequency comparison

compulsão#28,909

convulsão#23,951

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "compulsão" and "convulsão" be used interchangeably?

No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.

Which is more common, "compulsão" or "convulsão"?

"convulsão" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,951 in our Portuguese list, against #28,909 for "compulsão". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering compulsão vs convulsão

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 “compulsão” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable