Which to use
“chisel” is a noun and “chiseled” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,363
- “chisel” frequency rank
- #42,058
- “chiseled” frequency rank
- 72421
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chisel | chiseled |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A cutting tool used to remove parts of stone, wood or metal by pushing or pounding the back when the sharp edge is against the material. It consists of a slim, oblong block of metal with a sharp wedge or bevel formed on one end and sometimes a handle at the other end; there are hand tool versions (the original type) and versions as bits for power tools. | Having strongly defined facial features. |
Where the eye mixes chisel and chiseled
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses chisel with chiseled
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: chisel is /ˈt͡ʃɪzəl/ while chiseled is /ˈt͡ʃɪzəld/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “chisel” sits inside “chiseled”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72421, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chisel is recorded at frequency rank #30,363, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈt͡ʃɪzəl/. chiseled is at rank #42,058, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈt͡ʃɪzəld/.
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 72421, this pair ranks #43,114 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of chisel vs chiseled
Shared letters: cehils. Private to "chisel": -. Private to "chiseled": d.
"chisel" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "chiseled" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "chisel" for "chiseled" ever safe?
Which is more common, "chisel" or "chiseled"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "chisel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chiseled" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #43,114 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chisel" and "chiseled" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chisel vs chives". 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 #43,114 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.