condensedvscondenserWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: condensed is a adjective, condenser is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“condensed” is an adjective and “condenser” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,108
“condensed” frequency rank
#34,444
“condenser” frequency rank
51552
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature condensed condenser
Definition Highly concentrated, or packed into a small space. A device designed to condense a gas into a liquid, either as part of a still, steam engine, refrigerator or similar machine.

Letter map: condensed vs condenser

Shared letters muted; letters that set condensed and condenser apart highlighted. Shared run: 8.

9 ch
condensed
9 ch
condenser

Role in the sentence - condensed and condenser

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: condensed is anadjective and condenseranoun. On the page they differ by a single letter - d in “condensed” becomes r in “condenser”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51552, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

condensed is recorded at frequency rank #17,108, classified as anadj. condenser is at rank #34,444, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkʰəndɛnsɚ/.

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 51552, this pair ranks #164,528 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of condensed vs condenser

Shared letters: cdenos. Private to "condensed": -. Private to "condenser": r.

"condensed" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "condenser" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • condensedccondensed · cnodensed · codnensed · conddensed · condenesd · condennsed · condensde · condensedd
  • condenserccondenser · cnodenser · codnenser · conddenser · condenesr · condennser · condenserr · condensre

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "condensed" and "condenser" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "condensed" is an adjective and "condenser" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary English text, does "condensed" or "condenser" show up more?
"condensed" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,108 in our English list, against #34,444 for "condenser". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pair "condensed" vs "condenser" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "condensed" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "condenser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #164,528 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "condensed" and "condenser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "condenser vs convener". 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 #164,528 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