entrustvsentrustedWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“entrust” and “entrusted” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#34,045
“entrust” frequency rank
#16,017
“entrusted” frequency rank
50062
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entrust entrusted
Definition To trust to the care of. simple past and past participle of entrust

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set entrust and entrusted apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
entrust
9 ch
entrusted

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. entrust (/ɪnˈtɹʌst/) and entrusted (/ɪnˈtɹʌstɪd/) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “entrust” sits inside “entrusted”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50062, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entrust is recorded at frequency rank #34,045, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪnˈtɹʌst/. entrusted is at rank #16,017, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɪnˈtɹʌstɪd/.

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 50062, this pair ranks #177,709 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of entrust vs entrusted

Shared letters: enrstu. Private to "entrust": -. Private to "entrusted": d.

"entrust" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCC  ·  "entrusted" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • entrustenntrust · enrtust · entrrust · entrsut · entrusst · entrustt · entruts · enttrust
  • entrustedenntrusted · enrtusted · entrrusted · entrsuted · entrusetd · entrussted · entrustde · entrustedd

Frequency comparison

entrust#34,045
entrusted#16,017

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "entrust" and "entrusted" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɪnˈtɹʌst/ versus /ɪnˈtɹʌstɪd/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "entrust" or "entrusted"?
"entrusted" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,017 in our English list, against #34,045 for "entrust". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering entrust vs entrusted

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “entrust” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list