Which to use
“exposé” is a noun and “exposed” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #42,126
- “exposé” frequency rank
- #2,945
- “exposed” frequency rank
- 45071
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | exposé | exposed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The act of exposing somebody or something; a shameful showing up. | Open (especially to something), unconcealed and/or unprotected (and therefore vulnerable, susceptible). |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set exposé and exposed apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: exposé is /ˌɛkspoʊˈzeɪ/ while exposed is /ɪkˈspoʊzd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45071, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
exposé is recorded at frequency rank #42,126, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˌɛkspoʊˈzeɪ/. exposed is at rank #2,945, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɪkˈspoʊzd/.
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 45071, this pair ranks #224,689 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of exposé vs exposed
Shared letters: eopsx. Private to "exposé": é. Private to "exposed": d.
"exposé" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "exposed" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- exposed ← epxosed · exopsed · expoesd · exposde · exposedd · expossed · expposed · expsoed
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "exposé" and "exposed" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "exposé" or "exposed"?
Remembering exposé vs exposed
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “exposé”; for an adjective, it's “exposed”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “exposé” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable