Which to use
“haunting” is a verb and “hunting” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,557
- “haunting” frequency rank
- #3,500
- “hunting” frequency rank
- 18057
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | haunting | hunting |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of haunt | The act of finding and killing a wild animal, either for sport or with the intention of using its parts to make food, clothes, etc. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set haunting and hunting apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: haunting is averb and huntinganoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18057, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
haunting is recorded at frequency rank #14,557, classified as averb. hunting is at rank #3,500, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈhʌntɪŋ/.
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 18057, this pair ranks #447,392 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of haunting vs hunting
Shared letters: ghintu. Private to "haunting": a. Private to "hunting": -.
"haunting" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCC · "hunting" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "haunting" and "hunting" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "haunting" or "hunting"?
Remembering haunting vs hunting
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “haunting”; for a noun, it's “hunting”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “haunting” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable