Which to use
“espouse” is a verb and “espoused” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #42,630
- “espouse” frequency rank
- #32,798
- “espoused” frequency rank
- 75428
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | espouse | espoused |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To marry. | Having been espoused or claimed; held (as a belief or position). |
Letter map: espouse vs espoused
Shared letters muted; letters that set espouse and espoused apart highlighted. Shared run: 7. espouse runs 7 letters (VCCVVCV) against espoused's 8 (VCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Role in the sentence - espouse and espoused
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: espouse is averb and espousedanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “espouse” sits inside “espoused”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75428, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
espouse is recorded at frequency rank #42,630, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪˈspaʊz/. espoused is at rank #32,798, tagged as anadj.
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 75428, this pair ranks #33,165 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of espouse vs espoused
Shared letters: eopsu. Private to "espouse": -. Private to "espoused": d.
"espouse" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV · "espoused" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "espouse" and "espoused" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "espouse" or "espoused"?
After this comparison
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "espouse" and "espoused".
- Full dictionary entry for "espouse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "espoused" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #33,165 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "espouse" and "espoused" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "espouse vs exposé". 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 #33,165 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.