Which to use
“double” is an adjective and “doubled” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,049
- “double” frequency rank
- #8,413
- “doubled” frequency rank
- 9462
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | double | doubled |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Made up of two matching or complementary elements. | simple past and past participle of double |
Where the eye mixes double and doubled
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between double and doubled
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: double is /ˈdʌb.əl/ while doubled is /ˈdʌbl̩d/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “double” sits inside “doubled”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9462, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
double is recorded at frequency rank #1,049, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈdʌb.əl/. doubled is at rank #8,413, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈdʌbl̩d/.
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 9462, this pair ranks #497,287 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of double vs doubled
Shared letters: bdelou. Private to "double": -. Private to "doubled": -.
"double" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV · "doubled" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "double" for "doubled" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "double" or "doubled" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "double" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "doubled" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #497,287 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "double" and "doubled" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "double vs douse". 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 #497,287 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.