grayvsgreatWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gray is a noun, great is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gray” is a noun and “great” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,365
“gray” frequency rank
#8,059
“great” frequency rank
18424
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gray great
Definition unidade no Sistema Internacional de medidas, representado por Gy, que representa a quantidade de energia de radiação ionizante absorvida (ou dose) por unidade de massa, e é definido como a quantidade que deposita 1 joule (J) de energia por quilograma (kg) do meio absorvedor, sendo 1 Gy = 1 J/kg fantástico, de ótima qualidade

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gray and great apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
gray
5 ch
great

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

gray and great form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18424, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gray is recorded at frequency rank #10,365, classified as anoun, pronounced /'greɪ/. great is at rank #8,059, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɡɹeɪt/.

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 18424, this pair ranks #52,559 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

gray#10,365
great#8,059

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gray" and "great" be used interchangeably?
No, "gray" and "great" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering gray vs great

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “gray”; for an adjective, it's “great”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gray” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list