Which to use
“exaggerate” is a verb and “exaggerated” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,664
- “exaggerate” frequency rank
- #11,540
- “exaggerated” frequency rank
- 34204
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | exaggerate | exaggerated |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To overstate, to describe more than the fact. | That has been described as greater than it actually is; abnormally increased or enlarged. |
Where the eye mixes exaggerate and exaggerated
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: exaggerate vs exaggerated
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: exaggerate is /ɛɡˈzæd͡ʒ.ə.ɹeɪt/ while exaggerated is /ɪɡˈzæ.d͡ʒəˌɹeɪ.tɪd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “exaggerate” sits inside “exaggerated”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34204, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
exaggerate is recorded at frequency rank #22,664, classified as averb, pronounced /ɛɡˈzæd͡ʒ.ə.ɹeɪt/. exaggerated is at rank #11,540, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɪɡˈzæ.d͡ʒəˌɹeɪ.tɪd/.
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 34204, this pair ranks #322,779 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of exaggerate vs exaggerated
Shared letters: aegrtx. Private to "exaggerate": -. Private to "exaggerated": d.
"exaggerate" · 10 letters · shape VCVCCVCVCV · "exaggerated" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- exaggerate ← eaxggerate · exagegrate · exagerate · exaggearte · exaggeraet · exaggeratte · exaggerrate · exaggertae
- exaggerated ← eaxggerated · exagegrated · exagerated · exaggearted · exaggeraetd · exaggeratde · exaggeratedd · exaggeratted
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "exaggerate" and "exaggerated" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "exaggerate" vs "exaggerated" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "exaggerate" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "exaggerated" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #322,779 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "exaggerate" and "exaggerated" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "exaggerated vs exasperated". 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 #322,779 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.