Used after a consonant or a non-“short” vowel, except in plurals.

apse

cease

copse

course

crease

curse

dense

douse

false

geese

glimpse

goose

gorse

grease

grouse

hearse

horse

house

lapse

lease

loose

louse

manse

moose

morse

mouse

noose

Norse

nurse

pulse

purse

rinse

Scouse

sense

souse

sparse

spouse

tense

terse

verse

worse

adverse

apocalypse

averse

boathouse

clubhouse

collapse

commonsense

concourse

condense

converse

convulse

courthouse

decrease

defense

disburse

discourse

dispense

disperse

diverse

eclipse

ellipse

expanse

expense

farmhouse

gatehouse

greenhouse

hothouse

immense

immerse

impulse

incense

increase

intense

intersperse

inverse

license

lighthouse

nonsense

obverse

perverse

playhouse

porpoise

racecourse

recourse

rehearse

reimburse

relapse

release

remorse

repulse

response

reverse

suspense

synapse

tortoise

traverse

universe

workhouse