Which to use
“filed” is a verb and “fisted” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,058
- “filed” frequency rank
- #40,248
- “fisted” frequency rank
- 43306
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | filed | fisted |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of file | Having some specific type of fist. |
Where the eye mixes filed and fisted
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between filed and fisted
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: filed is /faɪld/ while fisted is /ˈfɪstɪd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43306, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
filed is recorded at frequency rank #3,058, classified as averb, pronounced /faɪld/. fisted is at rank #40,248, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈfɪstɪd/.
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 43306, this pair ranks #241,257 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of filed vs fisted
Shared letters: defi. Private to "filed": l. Private to "fisted": st.
"filed" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "fisted" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "filed" for "fisted" ever safe?
Frequency check: "filed" vs "fisted" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "filed" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fisted" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #241,257 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "filed" and "fisted" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fisted vs fluted". 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 #241,257 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.