Which to use
“execute” and “executed” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,687
- “execute” frequency rank
- #4,525
- “executed” frequency rank
- 12212
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | execute | executed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To kill, especially as punishment for a capital crime. | simple past and past participle of execute |
Where the eye mixes execute and executed
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: execute vs executed
A purely visual mix-up. execute (/ˈɛksɪˌkjuːt/) and executed (/ˈɛksɪˌkjuːtɪd/) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “execute” sits inside “executed”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12212, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
execute is recorded at frequency rank #7,687, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈɛksɪˌkjuːt/. executed is at rank #4,525, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈɛksɪˌkjuːtɪd/.
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 12212, this pair ranks #482,821 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of execute vs executed
Shared letters: cetux. Private to "execute": -. Private to "executed": d.
"execute" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV · "executed" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "execute" for "executed" ever safe?
Which is more common, "execute" or "executed"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "execute" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "executed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #482,821 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "execute" and "executed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "execute vs executor". 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 #482,821 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.