blessedvsblessesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: blessed is a adjective, blesses is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“blessed” is an adjective and “blesses” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,826
“blessed” frequency rank
#46,341
“blesses” frequency rank
51167
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature blessed blesses
Definition Having divine aid, or protection, or other blessing. third-person singular simple present indicative of bless

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set blessed and blesses apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
blessed
7 ch
blesses

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

blessed and blesses form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - d in “blessed” becomes s in “blesses” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51167, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

blessed is recorded at frequency rank #4,826, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈblɛsɪd/. blesses is at rank #46,341, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈblɛsɪz/.

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 51167, this pair ranks #167,810 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

blessed#4,826
blesses#46,341

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "blessed" and "blesses" be used interchangeably?
No, "blessed" and "blesses" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering blessed vs blesses

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “blessed”; for a verb, it's “blesses”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “blessed” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list