Which to use
“focused” and “focussed” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,253
- “focused” frequency rank
- #24,450
- “focussed” frequency rank
- 26703
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | focused | focussed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Directing all one's efforts towards achieving a particular goal. | Alternative spelling of focused. |
Letter map: focused vs focussed
Shared letters muted; letters that set focused and focussed apart highlighted. Shared run: 7.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
focused and focussed are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26703, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
focused is recorded at frequency rank #2,253, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈfəʊ.kəst/. focussed is at rank #24,450, tagged as anadj.
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 26703, this pair ranks #384,695 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of focused vs focussed
Shared letters: cdefosu. Private to "focused": -. Private to "focussed": -.
"focused" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "focussed" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "focused" and "focussed" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "focused" or "focussed"?
What to do next
You've compared "focused" and "focussed". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "focused" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "focussed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #384,695 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "focused" and "focussed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "focuses vs focussed". 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
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.