gracedvsgrazedWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“graced” and “grazed” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#29,295
“graced” frequency rank
#33,259
“grazed” frequency rank
62554
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature graced grazed
Definition simple past and past participle of grace simple past and past participle of graze

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set graced and grazed apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
graced
6 ch
grazed

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. graced (/ɡɹeɪst/) and grazed (/ɡɹeɪzd/) 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 a single letter - c in “graced” becomes z in “grazed”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62554, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

graced is recorded at frequency rank #29,295, classified as averb, pronounced /ɡɹeɪst/. grazed is at rank #33,259, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɡɹeɪzd/.

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 62554, this pair ranks #87,866 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of graced vs grazed

Shared letters: adegr. Private to "graced": c. Private to "grazed": z.

"graced" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "grazed" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gracedgarced · ggraced · gracced · gracde · gracedd · graecd · grcaed · grraced
  • grazedgarzed · ggrazed · graezd · grazde · grazedd · grazzed · grrazed · grzaed

Frequency comparison

graced#29,295
grazed#33,259

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "graced" and "grazed" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɡɹeɪst/ versus /ɡɹeɪzd/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "graced" or "grazed"?
"graced" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,295 in our English list, against #33,259 for "grazed". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering graced vs grazed

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 “graced” 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