Which to use
“clench” is a verb and “clenched” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,122
- “clench” frequency rank
- #32,325
- “clenched” frequency rank
- 76447
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clench | clenched |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To grip or hold fast. | Closed tightly. |
Letter map: clench vs clenched
Shared letters muted; letters that set clench and clenched apart highlighted. Shared run: 6. clench runs 6 letters (CCVCCC) against clenched's 8 (CCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Part-of-speech tell for clench / clenched
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: clench is averb and clenchedanadjective. On the page they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “clench” sits inside “clenched”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76447, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clench is recorded at frequency rank #44,122, classified as averb, pronounced /klɛnt͡ʃ/. clenched is at rank #32,325, 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 76447, this pair ranks #30,109 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of clench vs clenched
Shared letters: cehln. Private to "clench": -. Private to "clenched": d.
"clench" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC · "clenched" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "clench" for "clenched" ever safe?
Frequency check: "clench" vs "clenched" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
You've compared "clench" and "clenched". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "clench" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clenched" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #30,109 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clench" and "clenched" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cinch vs clench". 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 #30,109 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.