contactedvsconvictedConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#7,111
“contacted” frequency rank
#5,113
“convicted” frequency rank
12224
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature contacted convicted
Definition simple past and past participle of contact simple past and past participle of convict

Where the eye mixes contacted and convicted

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

9 ch
contacted
9 ch
convicted

Visual trap between contacted and convicted

A purely visual mix-up. contacted (/ˈkɑntæktɪd/) and convicted (/kənˈvɪktɪd/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12224, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

contacted is recorded at frequency rank #7,111, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈkɑntæktɪd/. convicted is at rank #5,113, tagged as averb, pronounced /kənˈvɪktɪd/.

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 12224, this pair ranks #482,762 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of contacted vs convicted

Shared letters: cdenot. Private to "contacted": a. Private to "convicted": iv.

"contacted" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "convicted" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • contactedccontacted · cnotacted · conatcted · conntacted · contaccted · contacetd · contactde · contactedd
  • convictedcconvicted · cnovicted · conivcted · connvicted · convcited · conviccted · convicetd · convictde

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contacted" and "convicted" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈkɑntæktɪd/ versus /kənˈvɪktɪd/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "contacted" vs "convicted" - which ranks higher?
"convicted" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,113 in our English list, against #7,111 for "contacted". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "contacted" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "convicted" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #482,762 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "contacted" and "convicted" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contacted vs contorted". 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 #482,762 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