Which to use
“doubted” is an adjective and “doubts” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,218
- “doubted” frequency rank
- #7,677
- “doubts” frequency rank
- 23895
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | doubted | doubts |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Considered doubtful; not trusted; uncertain. | plural of doubt |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set doubted and doubts apart are highlighted. They share 5 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: doubted is /ˈdaʊtɪd/ while doubts is /daʊts/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23895, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
doubted is recorded at frequency rank #16,218, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈdaʊtɪd/. doubts is at rank #7,677, tagged as anoun, pronounced /daʊts/.
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 23895, this pair ranks #405,970 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of doubted vs doubts
Shared letters: bdotu. Private to "doubted": e. Private to "doubts": s.
"doubted" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "doubts" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "doubted" and "doubts" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "doubted" or "doubts"?
Remembering doubted vs doubts
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “doubted”; for a noun, it's “doubts”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “doubted” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable