Which to use
“condense” is a verb and “condensed” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #41,059
- “condense” frequency rank
- #17,108
- “condensed” frequency rank
- 58167
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | condense | condensed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To concentrate toward the essence by making more close, compact, or dense, thereby decreasing size or volume. | Highly concentrated, or packed into a small space. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set condense and condensed apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
condense and condensed form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “condense” sits inside “condensed” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58167, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
condense is recorded at frequency rank #41,059, classified as averb, pronounced /kənˈdɛns/. condensed is at rank #17,108, 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 58167, this pair ranks #114,430 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "condense" and "condensed" be used interchangeably?
Remembering condense vs condensed
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “condense”; for an adjective, it's “condensed”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “condense” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable