fusedvsfusesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fused is a verb, fuses is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fused” is a verb and “fuses” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,147
“fused” frequency rank
#26,436
“fuses” frequency rank
43583
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fused fuses
Definition simple past and past participle of fuse plural of fuse

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fused and fuses apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
fused
5 ch
fuses

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

fused and fuses form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - d in “fused” becomes s in “fuses” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43583, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fused is recorded at frequency rank #17,147, classified as averb, pronounced /fjuːzd/. fuses is at rank #26,436, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈfjuːzɪz/.

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 43583, this pair ranks #238,608 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

fused#17,147
fuses#26,436

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fused" and "fuses" be used interchangeably?
No, "fused" and "fuses" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering fused vs fuses

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “fused”; for a noun, it's “fuses”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fused” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list