Which to use
“achieve” and “achieved” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,607
- “achieve” frequency rank
- #3,037
- “achieved” frequency rank
- 5644
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | achieve | achieved |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To succeed in something, now especially in academic performance. | simple past and past participle of achieve |
Where the eye mixes achieve and achieved
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. achieve runs 7 letters (VCCVVCV) against achieved's 8 (VCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between achieve and achieved
A purely visual mix-up. achieve (/əˈt͡ʃiːv/) and achieved (/əˈt͡ʃiːvd/) 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) - “achieve” sits inside “achieved”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5644, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
achieve is recorded at frequency rank #2,607, classified as averb, pronounced /əˈt͡ʃiːv/. achieved is at rank #3,037, tagged as averb, pronounced /əˈt͡ʃiːvd/.
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 5644, this pair ranks #514,508 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of achieve vs achieved
Shared letters: acehiv. Private to "achieve": -. Private to "achieved": d.
"achieve" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV · "achieved" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "achieve" for "achieved" ever safe?
Which is more common, "achieve" or "achieved"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "achieve" and "achieved" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "achieve" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "achieved" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #514,508 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "achieve" and "achieved" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "achieved vs achieves". 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 #514,508 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.