Which to use
“govern” and “governed” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,709
- “govern” frequency rank
- #8,936
- “governed” frequency rank
- 20645
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | govern | governed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To make and administer the public policy and affairs of; to exercise sovereign authority in. | simple past and past participle of govern |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set govern and governed apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
govern and governed 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 2 extra letter(s) - “govern” sits inside “governed” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20645, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
govern is recorded at frequency rank #11,709, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈɡʌv.ən/. governed is at rank #8,936, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈɡəvɚnd/.
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 20645, this pair ranks #429,675 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "govern" and "governed" be used interchangeably?
Remembering govern vs governed
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “govern” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable