Which to use
“coaxed” and “copied” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,536
- “coaxed” frequency rank
- #9,725
- “copied” frequency rank
- 57261
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | coaxed | copied |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of coax | simple past and past participle of copy |
Where the eye mixes coaxed and copied
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. coaxed (CVVCVC) and copied (CVCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between coaxed and copied
A purely visual mix-up. coaxed (/kəʊkst/) and copied (/ˈkɑpid/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57261, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
coaxed is recorded at frequency rank #47,536, classified as averb, pronounced /kəʊkst/. copied is at rank #9,725, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈkɑpid/.
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 57261, this pair ranks #120,539 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of coaxed vs copied
Shared letters: cdeo. Private to "coaxed": ax. Private to "copied": ip.
"coaxed" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "copied" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "coaxed" and "copied" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "coaxed" or "copied" show up more?
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 "coaxed" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "copied" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #120,539 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "coaxed" and "copied" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cased vs coaxed". 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 #120,539 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.