Which to use
“imported” and “imposed” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,700
- “imported” frequency rank
- #5,505
- “imposed” frequency rank
- 13205
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | imported | imposed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of import | simple past and past participle of impose |
Where the eye mixes imported and imposed
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between imported and imposed
A purely visual mix-up. imported (/ɪmˈpɔːtɪd/) and imposed (/ɪmˈpoʊzd/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13205, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
imported is recorded at frequency rank #7,700, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪmˈpɔːtɪd/. imposed is at rank #5,505, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɪmˈpoʊzd/.
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 13205, this pair ranks #477,177 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of imported vs imposed
Shared letters: deimop. Private to "imported": rt. Private to "imposed": s.
"imported" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "imposed" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "imported" and "imposed" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "imported" vs "imposed" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "imported" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "imposed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #477,177 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "imported" and "imposed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "impaled vs imposed". 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 #477,177 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.