Which to use
“apprehend” is a verb and “apprehended” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,118
- “apprehend” frequency rank
- #19,264
- “apprehended” frequency rank
- 47382
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | apprehend | apprehended |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To be or become aware of (something); to perceive. | Taken; seized. |
Letter map: apprehend vs apprehended
Shared letters muted; letters that set apprehend and apprehended apart highlighted. Shared run: 9.
Role in the sentence - apprehend and apprehended
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: apprehend is averb and apprehendedanadjective. On the page they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “apprehend” sits inside “apprehended”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47382, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
apprehend is recorded at frequency rank #28,118, classified as averb, pronounced /ˌæpɹɪˈhɛnd/. apprehended is at rank #19,264, tagged as anadj.
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 47382, this pair ranks #202,996 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of apprehend vs apprehended
Shared letters: adehnpr. Private to "apprehend": -. Private to "apprehended": -.
"apprehend" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCVCC · "apprehended" · 11 letters · shape VCCCVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- apprehend ← apperhend · appreehnd · apprehedn · apprehendd · apprehennd · apprehhend · apprehned · apprheend
- apprehended ← apperhended · appreehnded · apprehedned · apprehendde · apprehendded · apprehendedd · apprehenedd · apprehennded
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "apprehend" and "apprehended" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "apprehend" or "apprehended" show up more?
After this comparison
You've compared "apprehend" and "apprehended". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "apprehend" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "apprehended" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #202,996 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- 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 #202,996 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.