Which to use
“fouled” and “fused” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,431
- “fouled” frequency rank
- #17,147
- “fused” frequency rank
- 43578
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fouled | fused |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of foul | simple past and past participle of fuse |
Where the eye mixes fouled and fused
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses fouled with fused
A purely visual mix-up. fouled (/faʊld/) and fused (/fjuːzd/) 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 43578, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fouled is recorded at frequency rank #26,431, classified as averb, pronounced /faʊld/. fused is at rank #17,147, tagged as averb, pronounced /fjuːzd/.
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 43578, this pair ranks #238,647 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fouled vs fused
Shared letters: defu. Private to "fouled": lo. Private to "fused": s.
"fouled" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "fused" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fouled" for "fused" ever safe?
Which is more common, "fouled" or "fused"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fouled" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fused" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #238,647 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fouled" and "fused" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fouled 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 #238,647 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.