Which to use
“bolster” is a noun and “bolstered” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,274
- “bolster” frequency rank
- #32,708
- “bolstered” frequency rank
- 51982
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bolster | bolstered |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A large cushion or pillow, usually cylindrical in shape. | padded |
Letter map: bolster vs bolstered
Shared letters muted; letters that set bolster and bolstered apart highlighted. Shared run: 7. bolster runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against bolstered's 9 (CVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Grammar separator: bolster vs bolstered
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: bolster is anoun and bolsteredanadjective. On the page they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “bolster” sits inside “bolstered”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51982, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bolster is recorded at frequency rank #19,274, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈbɒlstə/. bolstered is at rank #32,708, 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 51982, this pair ranks #160,850 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bolster vs bolstered
Shared letters: belorst. Private to "bolster": -. Private to "bolstered": d.
"bolster" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "bolstered" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bolster" for "bolstered" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "bolster" or "bolstered" show up more?
Useful next steps
You've compared "bolster" and "bolstered". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "bolster" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bolstered" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #160,850 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bolster" and "bolstered" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bluster vs bolster". 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 #160,850 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.