Which to use
“added” and “axed” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #701
- “added” frequency rank
- #36,045
- “axed” frequency rank
- 36746
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | added | axed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of add | simple past and past participle of ax (all etymologies and senses) |
Where the eye mixes added and axed
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between added and axed
A purely visual mix-up. added (/ˈæd.əd/) and axed (/ækst/) 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 36746, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
added is recorded at frequency rank #701, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈæd.əd/. axed is at rank #36,045, tagged as averb, pronounced /ækst/.
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 36746, this pair ranks #300,521 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of added vs axed
Shared letters: ade. Private to "added": -. Private to "axed": x.
"added" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "axed" · 4 letters · shape VCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "added" for "axed" ever safe?
Frequency check: "added" vs "axed" - 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 "added" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "axed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #300,521 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "added" and "axed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ake vs axed". 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 #300,521 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.