Which to use
“feared” and “frayed” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,792
- “feared” frequency rank
- #36,991
- “frayed” frequency rank
- 44783
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | feared | frayed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pertaining to someone or thing that causes great fear in others. | Unravelled; worn at the end or edge. |
Where the eye mixes feared and frayed
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses feared with frayed
A purely visual mix-up. feared (/fɪɹd/) and frayed (/fɹeɪd/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44783, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
feared is recorded at frequency rank #7,792, classified as anadj, pronounced /fɪɹd/. frayed is at rank #36,991, tagged as anadj, pronounced /fɹeɪd/.
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 44783, this pair ranks #227,374 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of feared vs frayed
Shared letters: adefr. Private to "feared": -. Private to "frayed": y.
"feared" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "frayed" · 6 letters · shape CCVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "feared" and "frayed" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "feared" or "frayed"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "feared" and "frayed" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "feared" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "frayed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #227,374 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "feared" and "frayed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "flaked vs frayed". 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 #227,374 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.