Which to use
“filed” and “foiled” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,058
- “filed” frequency rank
- #29,659
- “foiled” frequency rank
- 32717
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | filed | foiled |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of file | simple past and past participle of foil |
Where the eye mixes filed and foiled
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses filed with foiled
A purely visual mix-up. filed (/faɪld/) and foiled (/fɔɪld/) 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 32717, 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/. foiled is at rank #29,659, tagged as averb, pronounced /fɔɪld/.
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 32717, this pair ranks #335,501 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of filed vs foiled
Shared letters: defil. Private to "filed": -. Private to "foiled": o.
"filed" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "foiled" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "filed" and "foiled" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "filed" vs "foiled" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "filed" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "foiled" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #335,501 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "filed" and "foiled" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "foiled vs Foyle". 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 #335,501 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.