Which to use
“fuse” is a noun and “fused” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,605
- “fuse” frequency rank
- #17,147
- “fused” frequency rank
- 29752
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fuse | fused |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A cord that, when lit, conveys the fire to some explosive device, such as a bomb. | simple past and past participle of fuse |
Where the eye mixes fuse and fused
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: fuse vs fused
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fuse is /fjuːz/ while fused is /fjuːzd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “fuse” sits inside “fused”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29752, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fuse is recorded at frequency rank #12,605, classified as anoun, pronounced /fjuːz/. 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 29752, this pair ranks #360,346 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fuse vs fused
Shared letters: efsu. Private to "fuse": -. Private to "fused": d.
"fuse" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "fused" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fuse" and "fused" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "fuse" or "fused"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fuse" 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 #360,346 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fuse" and "fused" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fluted vs fused". 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 #360,346 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.