Which to use
“arrested” and “attested” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,283
- “arrested” frequency rank
- #23,462
- “attested” frequency rank
- 25745
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arrested | attested |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of arrest | simple past and past participle of attest |
Where the eye mixes arrested and attested
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between arrested and attested
A purely visual mix-up. arrested (/əˈɹɛstɪd/) and attested (/əˈtɛstɪd/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25745, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
arrested is recorded at frequency rank #2,283, classified as averb, pronounced /əˈɹɛstɪd/. attested is at rank #23,462, tagged as averb, pronounced /əˈtɛstɪd/.
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 25745, this pair ranks #391,963 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of arrested vs attested
Shared letters: adest. Private to "arrested": r. Private to "attested": -.
"arrested" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "attested" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "arrested" for "attested" ever safe?
Which is more common, "arrested" or "attested"?
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 "arrested" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "attested" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #391,963 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "arrested" and "attested" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "attest vs attested". 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 #391,963 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.