Which to use
“frighten” is a verb and “frightened” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26,092
- “frighten” frequency rank
- #10,550
- “frightened” frequency rank
- 36642
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | frighten | frightened |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To cause to feel fear; to scare; to cause to feel alarm or fright. | Afraid; suffering from fear. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set frighten and frightened apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: frighten is /ˈfɹaɪ.tən/ while frightened is /ˈfɹaɪtn̩d/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “frighten” sits inside “frightened”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36642, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
frighten is recorded at frequency rank #26,092, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈfɹaɪ.tən/. frightened is at rank #10,550, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈfɹaɪtn̩d/.
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 36642, this pair ranks #301,436 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of frighten vs frightened
Shared letters: efghinrt. Private to "frighten": -. Private to "frightened": d.
"frighten" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCCVC · "frightened" · 10 letters · shape CCVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- frighten ← ffrighten · firghten · frgihten · frigghten · frighetn · frighhten · frightenn · frightne
- frightened ← ffrightened · firghtened · frgihtened · frigghtened · frighetned · frighhtened · frighteend · frightende
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "frighten" and "frightened" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "frighten" or "frightened"?
Remembering frighten vs frightened
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “frighten”; for an adjective, it's “frightened”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “frighten” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable