fastvsfutWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fast is a adjective, fut is an intj, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fast” is an adjective and “fut” is an intj - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#767
“fast” frequency rank
#44,798
“fut” frequency rank
45565
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fast fut
Definition Firmly or securely fixed in place; stable. Alternative form of 'sfoot.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fast and fut apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
fast
3 ch
fut

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

fast and fut 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 45565, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fast is recorded at frequency rank #767, classified as anadj, pronounced /fɑːst/. fut is at rank #44,798, tagged as anintj.

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 45565, this pair ranks #220,063 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

fast#767
fut#44,798

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fast" and "fut" be used interchangeably?
No, "fast" and "fut" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering fast vs fut

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “fast”; for an intj, it's “fut”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fast” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list