Which to use
“addict” is a noun and “adding” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,499
- “addict” frequency rank
- #2,140
- “adding” frequency rank
- 13639
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | addict | adding |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A person who is addicted, especially to a harmful drug. | present participle and gerund of add |
Where the eye mixes addict and adding
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses addict with adding
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: addict is /ˈæd.ɪkt/ while adding is /ˈæ.dɪŋ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13639, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
addict is recorded at frequency rank #11,499, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈæd.ɪkt/. adding is at rank #2,140, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈæ.dɪŋ/.
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 13639, this pair ranks #474,649 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of addict vs adding
Shared letters: adi. Private to "addict": ct. Private to "adding": gn.
"addict" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "adding" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "addict" for "adding" ever safe?
Which is more common, "addict" or "adding"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "addict" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "adding" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #474,649 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "addict" and "adding" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "addict vs Addie". 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 #474,649 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.