cappedvsclaspedWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#11,662
“capped” frequency rank
#48,142
“clasped” frequency rank
59804
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature capped clasped
Definition Having a cap (various senses). simple past and past participle of clasp

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set capped and clasped apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
capped
7 ch
clasped

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

capped and clasped 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 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59804, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

capped is recorded at frequency rank #11,662, classified as anadj, pronounced /kæpt/. clasped is at rank #48,142, tagged as averb, pronounced /klæspt/.

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 59804, this pair ranks #104,034 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Frequency comparison

capped#11,662
clasped#48,142

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "capped" and "clasped" be used interchangeably?
No, "capped" and "clasped" 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 capped vs clasped

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “capped”; for a verb, it's “clasped”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “capped” 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