# dear vs dread

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### dear
*adjective · IPA /dɪə/ · frequency rank #1,753*
High in price; expensive.

### dread
*verb · IPA /dɹɛd/ · frequency rank #12,227*
To fear greatly.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dear-vs-dread