# exacting vs expecting

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### exacting
*adjective · IPA /ɪɡˈzæktɪŋ/ · frequency rank #30,787*
Making great demands; difficult to satisfy.

### expecting
*verb · IPA /ɪkˈspɛktɪŋ/ · frequency rank #3,491*
present participle and gerund of expect

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/exacting-vs-expecting