Which to use
“fasten” and “fasting” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,649
- “fasten” frequency rank
- #13,514
- “fasting” frequency rank
- 43163
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fasten | fasting |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To attach or connect in a secure manner. | present participle and gerund of fast |
Where the eye mixes fasten and fasting
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. fasten runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against fasting's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses fasten with fasting
A purely visual mix-up. fasten (/ˈfɑːsn̩/) and fasting (/ˈfæstɪŋ/) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43163, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fasten is recorded at frequency rank #29,649, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈfɑːsn̩/. fasting is at rank #13,514, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈfæstɪŋ/.
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 43163, this pair ranks #242,615 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fasten vs fasting
Shared letters: afnst. Private to "fasten": e. Private to "fasting": gi.
"fasten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "fasting" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fasten" for "fasting" ever safe?
Which is more common, "fasten" or "fasting"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "fasten" and "fasting" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fasten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fasting" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #242,615 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fasten" and "fasting" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fasten vs fastener". 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 #242,615 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.