Which to use
“amuse” and “amused” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,652
- “amuse” frequency rank
- #14,267
- “amused” frequency rank
- 38919
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | amuse | amused |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To entertain or occupy (someone or something) in a pleasant manner; to stir (someone) with pleasing emotions. | simple past and past participle of amuse |
Where the eye mixes amuse and amused
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. amuse runs 5 letters (VCVCV) against amused's 6 (VCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between amuse and amused
A purely visual mix-up. amuse (/əˈmjuːz/) 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 extra letter(s) - “amuse” sits inside “amused”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38919, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
amuse is recorded at frequency rank #24,652, classified as averb, pronounced /əˈmjuːz/. 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 38919, this pair ranks #281,492 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of amuse vs amused
Shared letters: aemsu. Private to "amuse": -. Private to "amused": d.
"amuse" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "amused" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "amuse" for "amused" ever safe?
Which is more common, "amuse" or "amused"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "amuse" 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 #281,492 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "amuse" and "amused" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "amuse 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 #281,492 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.