Which to use
“demonstrate” and “demonstrated” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,117
- “demonstrate” frequency rank
- #4,936
- “demonstrated” frequency rank
- 10053
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | demonstrate | demonstrated |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To show how to use (something). | simple past and past participle of demonstrate |
Where the eye mixes demonstrate and demonstrated
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: demonstrate vs demonstrated
A purely visual mix-up. demonstrate (/ˈdɛm.ənˌstɹeɪt/) and demonstrated (/ˈdɛmənstɹeɪtɪd/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “demonstrate” sits inside “demonstrated”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10053, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
demonstrate is recorded at frequency rank #5,117, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈdɛm.ənˌstɹeɪt/. demonstrated is at rank #4,936, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈdɛmənstɹeɪtɪd/.
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 10053, this pair ranks #494,277 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of demonstrate vs demonstrated
Shared letters: ademnorst. Private to "demonstrate": -. Private to "demonstrated": -.
"demonstrate" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCCVCV · "demonstrated" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- demonstrate ← ddemonstrate · demmonstrate · demnostrate · demonnstrate · demonsrtate · demonsstrate · demonstarte · demonstraet
- demonstrated ← ddemonstrated · demmonstrated · demnostrated · demonnstrated · demonsrtated · demonsstrated · demonstarted · demonstraetd
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "demonstrate" and "demonstrated" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "demonstrate" or "demonstrated"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "demonstrate" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "demonstrated" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #494,277 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "demonstrate" and "demonstrated" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "demonstrate vs demonstrative". 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 #494,277 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.