Which to use
“comprised” and “comprises” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,305
- “comprised” frequency rank
- #8,914
- “comprises” frequency rank
- 18219
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | comprised | comprises |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of comprise | third-person singular simple present indicative of comprise |
Where the eye mixes comprised and comprises
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses comprised with comprises
A purely visual mix-up. comprised (/kəmˈpɹaɪzd/) and comprises (/kəmˈpɹaɪzɪz/) 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 a single letter - d in “comprised” becomes s in “comprises”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18219, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
comprised is recorded at frequency rank #9,305, classified as averb, pronounced /kəmˈpɹaɪzd/. comprises is at rank #8,914, tagged as averb, pronounced /kəmˈpɹaɪzɪz/.
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 18219, this pair ranks #446,326 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of comprised vs comprises
Shared letters: ceimoprs. Private to "comprised": d. Private to "comprises": -.
"comprised" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC · "comprises" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "comprised" for "comprises" ever safe?
Frequency check: "comprised" vs "comprises" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "comprised" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "comprises" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #446,326 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "comprised" and "comprises" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "complies vs comprises". 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 #446,326 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.