Which to use
“famed” and “feared” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,973
- “famed” frequency rank
- #7,792
- “feared” frequency rank
- 20765
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | famed | feared |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Having fame; famous or noted. | Pertaining to someone or thing that causes great fear in others. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set famed and feared apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
famed and feared form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20765, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
famed is recorded at frequency rank #12,973, classified as anadj, pronounced /feɪmd/. feared is at rank #7,792, tagged as anadj, pronounced /fɪɹd/.
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 20765, this pair ranks #428,830 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "famed" and "feared" be used interchangeably?
Remembering famed vs feared
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “famed” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable