Which to use
“allow” and “allowed” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,039
- “allow” frequency rank
- #985
- “allowed” frequency rank
- 2024
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | allow | allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To let one have as a suitable share of something. | simple past and past participle of allow |
Where the eye mixes allow and allowed
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses allow with allowed
A purely visual mix-up. allow (/əˈlaʊ/) and allowed (/əˈlaʊd/) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “allow” sits inside “allowed”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2024, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
allow is recorded at frequency rank #1,039, classified as averb, pronounced /əˈlaʊ/. allowed is at rank #985, tagged as averb, pronounced /əˈlaʊd/.
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 2024, this pair ranks #526,047 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of allow vs allowed
Shared letters: alow. Private to "allow": -. Private to "allowed": de.
"allow" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "allowed" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "allow" and "allowed" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "allow" or "allowed"?
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 "allow" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "allowed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #526,047 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "allow" and "allowed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "algo vs allow". 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 #526,047 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.