Which to use
“cared” and “cleared” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,942
- “cared” frequency rank
- #5,111
- “cleared” frequency rank
- 11053
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cared | cleared |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of care | simple past and past participle of clear |
Where the eye mixes cared and cleared
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cared with cleared
A purely visual mix-up. cared (/kɛɹd/) and cleared (/klɪɹd/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11053, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cared is recorded at frequency rank #5,942, classified as averb, pronounced /kɛɹd/. cleared is at rank #5,111, tagged as averb, pronounced /klɪɹd/.
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 11053, this pair ranks #489,127 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cared vs cleared
Shared letters: acder. Private to "cared": -. Private to "cleared": l.
"cared" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "cleared" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cared" for "cleared" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cared" vs "cleared" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cared" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cleared" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #489,127 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cared" and "cleared" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cleared vs cleaved". 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 #489,127 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.