Which to use
“gilded” and “graded” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,607
- “gilded” frequency rank
- #16,034
- “graded” frequency rank
- 35641
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gilded | graded |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of gild | simple past and past participle of grade |
Where the eye mixes gilded and graded
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. gilded (CVCCVC) and graded (CCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: gilded vs graded
A purely visual mix-up. gilded (/ˈɡɪldɪd/) and graded (/ˈɡɹeɪdɪd/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35641, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gilded is recorded at frequency rank #19,607, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈɡɪldɪd/. graded is at rank #16,034, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈɡɹeɪdɪd/.
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 35641, this pair ranks #310,217 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gilded vs graded
Shared letters: deg. Private to "gilded": il. Private to "graded": ar.
"gilded" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "graded" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "gilded" and "graded" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "gilded" vs "graded" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "gilded" and "graded" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "gilded" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "graded" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #310,217 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gilded" and "graded" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gilda vs gilded". 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 #310,217 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.