Which to use
“hedge” is a noun and “hedged” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,554
- “hedge” frequency rank
- #49,386
- “hedged” frequency rank
- 59940
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hedge | hedged |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A thicket of bushes or other shrubbery, especially one planted as a fence between two portions of land, or to separate the parts of a garden. | simple past and past participle of hedge |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hedge and hedged apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hedge is /ˈhɛd͡ʒ/ while hedged is /hɛd͡ʒd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “hedge” sits inside “hedged”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59940, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hedge is recorded at frequency rank #10,554, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈhɛd͡ʒ/. hedged is at rank #49,386, tagged as averb, pronounced /hɛd͡ʒd/.
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 59940, this pair ranks #103,173 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of hedge vs hedged
Shared letters: degh. Private to "hedge": -. Private to "hedged": -.
"hedge" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "hedged" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hedge" and "hedged" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "hedge" or "hedged"?
Remembering hedge vs hedged
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “hedge”; for a verb, it's “hedged”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hedge” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable