Which to use
“exclaimed” and “explained” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,140
- “exclaimed” frequency rank
- #2,535
- “explained” frequency rank
- 29675
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | exclaimed | explained |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of exclaim | simple past and past participle of explain |
Where the eye mixes exclaimed and explained
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses exclaimed with explained
A purely visual mix-up. exclaimed (/ɛkˈskleɪmd/) and explained (/ɪkˈspleɪnd/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29675, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
exclaimed is recorded at frequency rank #27,140, classified as averb, pronounced /ɛkˈskleɪmd/. explained is at rank #2,535, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɪkˈspleɪnd/.
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 29675, this pair ranks #360,981 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of exclaimed vs explained
Shared letters: adeilx. Private to "exclaimed": cm. Private to "explained": np.
"exclaimed" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC · "explained" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "exclaimed" for "explained" ever safe?
Which is more common, "exclaimed" or "explained"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "exclaimed" and "explained" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "exclaimed" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "explained" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #360,981 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "exclaimed" and "explained" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "exclaim vs exclaimed". 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 #360,981 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.