Which to use
“abate” and “abated” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,506
- “abate” frequency rank
- #47,445
- “abated” frequency rank
- 89951
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abate | abated |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To lessen (something) in force or intensity; to moderate. | simple past and past participle of abate |
Where the eye mixes abate and abated
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between abate and abated
A purely visual mix-up. abate (/əˈbeɪt/) and abated (/əˈbeɪtɪd/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “abate” sits inside “abated”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 89951, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abate is recorded at frequency rank #42,506, classified as averb, pronounced /əˈbeɪt/. abated is at rank #47,445, tagged as averb, pronounced /əˈbeɪtɪd/.
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 89951, this pair ranks #4,621 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of abate vs abated
Shared letters: abet. Private to "abate": -. Private to "abated": d.
"abate" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "abated" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abate" for "abated" ever safe?
Frequency check: "abate" vs "abated" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "abate" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abated" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #4,621 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abate" and "abated" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abated vs abetted". 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 #4,621 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.