huntedvshushedWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,363
“hunted” frequency rank
#31,607
“hushed” frequency rank
44970
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hunted hushed
Definition Being the subject of a hunt. Very quiet; expressed using soft tones.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hunted and hushed apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
hunted
6 ch
hushed

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. hunted (/ˈhʌntɪd/) and hushed (/hʌʃt/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44970, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hunted is recorded at frequency rank #13,363, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈhʌntɪd/. hushed is at rank #31,607, tagged as anadj, pronounced /hʌʃt/.

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 44970, this pair ranks #225,642 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hunted vs hushed

Shared letters: dehu. Private to "hunted": nt. Private to "hushed": s.

"hunted" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "hushed" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • huntedhhunted · hnuted · hunetd · hunnted · huntde · huntedd · huntted · hutned
  • hushedhhushed · hsuhed · huhsed · husehd · hushde · hushedd · hushhed · husshed

Frequency comparison

hunted#13,363
hushed#31,607

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hunted" and "hushed" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈhʌntɪd/ versus /hʌʃt/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "hunted" or "hushed"?
"hunted" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,363 in our English list, against #31,607 for "hushed". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hunted vs hushed

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 “hunted” 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