fatedvsfaultedWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fated is a adjective, faulted is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fated” is an adjective and “faulted” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,670
“fated” frequency rank
#40,692
“faulted” frequency rank
63362
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fated faulted
Definition Foreordained, predetermined, established in advance by fate. simple past and past participle of fault

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fated and faulted apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
fated
7 ch
faulted

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: fated is anadjective and faultedaverb. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63362, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fated is recorded at frequency rank #22,670, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈfeɪtɪd/. faulted is at rank #40,692, tagged as averb.

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 63362, this pair ranks #83,418 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of fated vs faulted

Shared letters: adeft. Private to "fated": -. Private to "faulted": lu.

"fated" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "faulted" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fatedafted · faetd · fatde · fatedd · fatted · ffated · ftaed
  • faultedafulted · faluted · fauletd · faullted · faultde · faultedd · faultted · fautled

Frequency comparison

fated#22,670
faulted#40,692

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fated" and "faulted" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fated" is an adjective and "faulted" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fated" or "faulted"?
"fated" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,670 in our English list, against #40,692 for "faulted". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fated vs faulted

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “fated”; for a verb, it's “faulted”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fated” 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