completedvscomputedTell them apart

Which to use

“completed” and “computed” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,750
“completed” frequency rank
#19,295
“computed” frequency rank
21045
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature completed computed
Definition simple past and past participle of complete simple past and past participle of compute

Where the eye mixes completed and computed

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

9 ch
completed
8 ch
computed

Why the eye confuses completed with computed

A purely visual mix-up. completed (/kəmˈpliːtɪd/) and computed (/kəmˈpjuːtɪd/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21045, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

completed is recorded at frequency rank #1,750, classified as averb, pronounced /kəmˈpliːtɪd/. computed is at rank #19,295, tagged as averb, pronounced /kəmˈpjuːtɪd/.

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 21045, this pair ranks #426,804 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of completed vs computed

Shared letters: cdemopt. Private to "completed": l. Private to "computed": u.

"completed" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC  ·  "computed" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • completedccompleted · cmopleted · comlpeted · commpleted · compelted · compleetd · completde · completedd
  • computedccomputed · cmoputed · commputed · compputed · comptued · compuetd · computde · computedd

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "completed" and "computed" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/kəmˈpliːtɪd/ versus /kəmˈpjuːtɪd/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "completed" or "computed"?
"completed" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,750 in our English list, against #19,295 for "computed". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "completed" and "computed" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "completed" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "computed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #426,804 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "completed" and "computed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "compacted vs computed". 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 #426,804 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list