Which to use
“hanged” is a verb and “haunted” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,730
- “hanged” frequency rank
- #8,674
- “haunted” frequency rank
- 22404
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hanged | haunted |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of hang (now only when referring to the method of execution, elsewhere hung is used) | Of a location, frequented by a ghost or ghosts. |
Where the eye mixes hanged and haunted
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: hanged vs haunted
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hanged is /ˈhæŋd/ while haunted is /ˈhɔːntɪd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22404, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hanged is recorded at frequency rank #13,730, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈhæŋd/. haunted is at rank #8,674, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈhɔːntɪd/.
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 22404, this pair ranks #416,833 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of hanged vs haunted
Shared letters: adehn. Private to "hanged": g. Private to "haunted": tu.
"hanged" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "haunted" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "hanged" and "haunted" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "hanged" or "haunted"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "hanged" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "haunted" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #416,833 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hanged" and "haunted" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hanged vs hedged". 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 #416,833 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.