Which to use
“accused” and “amused” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,204
- “accused” frequency rank
- #14,267
- “amused” frequency rank
- 17471
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | accused | amused |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of accuse | simple past and past participle of amuse |
Where the eye mixes accused and amused
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. accused runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against amused's 6 (VCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between accused and amused
A purely visual mix-up. accused (/əˈkjuzd/) and amused (/əˈmjuːzd/) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17471, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
accused is recorded at frequency rank #3,204, classified as averb, pronounced /əˈkjuzd/. amused is at rank #14,267, tagged as averb, pronounced /əˈmjuːzd/.
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 17471, this pair ranks #451,213 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of accused vs amused
Shared letters: adesu. Private to "accused": c. Private to "amused": m.
"accused" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "amused" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "accused" and "amused" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "accused" vs "amused" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "accused" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "amused" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #451,213 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "accused" and "amused" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "amused vs amuses". 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 #451,213 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.