Which to use
“hasten” is a verb and “hater” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,591
- “hasten” frequency rank
- #24,183
- “hater” frequency rank
- 55774
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hasten | hater |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To move or act in a quick fashion. | One who hates. |
Where the eye mixes hasten and hater
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: hasten vs hater
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hasten is /ˈheɪ.sn̩/ while hater is /ˈheɪtə(ɹ)/. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55774, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hasten is recorded at frequency rank #31,591, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈheɪ.sn̩/. hater is at rank #24,183, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈheɪtə(ɹ)/.
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 55774, this pair ranks #131,073 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of hasten vs hater
Shared letters: aeht. Private to "hasten": ns. Private to "hater": r.
"hasten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "hater" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "hasten" for "hater" ever safe?
Which is more common, "hasten" or "hater"?
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 "hasten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hater" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #131,073 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hasten" and "hater" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hasta vs hasten". 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 #131,073 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.