Which to use
“downed” is a verb and “downy” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,581
- “downed” frequency rank
- #47,024
- “downy” frequency rank
- 66605
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | downed | downy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of down | Having down, covered with a soft fuzzy coating as of small feathers or hair. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set downed and downy apart are highlighted. They share 4 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: downed is /daʊnd/ while downy is /ˈdaʊni/. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66605, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
downed is recorded at frequency rank #19,581, classified as averb, pronounced /daʊnd/. downy is at rank #47,024, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈdaʊni/.
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 66605, this pair ranks #67,227 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of downed vs downy
Shared letters: dnow. Private to "downed": e. Private to "downy": y.
"downed" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "downy" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "downed" and "downy" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "downed" or "downy"?
Remembering downed vs downy
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “downed”; for an adjective, it's “downy”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “downed” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable