Which to use
“gage” and “gagged” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,805
- “gage” frequency rank
- #32,817
- “gagged” frequency rank
- 54622
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gage | gagged |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To bind (someone) by pledge or security; to engage. | past participle of gag |
Where the eye mixes gage and gagged
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. gage runs 4 letters (CVCV) against gagged's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses gage with gagged
A purely visual mix-up. gage (/ɡeɪd͡ʒ/) and gagged (/ɡæɡd/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54622, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gage is recorded at frequency rank #21,805, classified as averb, pronounced /ɡeɪd͡ʒ/. gagged is at rank #32,817, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɡæɡd/.
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 54622, this pair ranks #139,660 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gage vs gagged
Shared letters: aeg. Private to "gage": -. Private to "gagged": d.
"gage" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "gagged" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gage" for "gagged" ever safe?
Frequency check: "gage" vs "gagged" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "gage" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gagged" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #139,660 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gage" and "gagged" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gagged vs gaggle". 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 #139,660 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.