Which to use
“conjugate” is a verb and “conjugated” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,446
- “conjugate” frequency rank
- #37,862
- “conjugated” frequency rank
- 72308
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | conjugate | conjugated |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To inflect (a verb) for each person, in order, for one or more tenses; to list or recite its principal parts. | Joined together in pairs. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set conjugate and conjugated apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: conjugate is /ˈkɒn.d͡ʒə.ɡeɪt/ while conjugated is /ˈkɑn.d͡ʒə.ɡeɪt.ɪd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “conjugate” sits inside “conjugated”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72308, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
conjugate is recorded at frequency rank #34,446, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈkɒn.d͡ʒə.ɡeɪt/. conjugated is at rank #37,862, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈkɑn.d͡ʒə.ɡeɪt.ɪd/.
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 72308, this pair ranks #43,488 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of conjugate vs conjugated
Shared letters: acegjnotu. Private to "conjugate": -. Private to "conjugated": d.
"conjugate" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV · "conjugated" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- conjugate ← cconjugate · cnojugate · cojnugate · conjguate · conjjugate · conjuagte · conjugaet · conjugatte
- conjugated ← cconjugated · cnojugated · cojnugated · conjguated · conjjugated · conjuagted · conjugaetd · conjugatde
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "conjugate" and "conjugated" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "conjugate" or "conjugated"?
Remembering conjugate vs conjugated
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “conjugate”; for an adjective, it's “conjugated”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “conjugate” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable