Which to use
“impose” and “imposed” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,047
- “impose” frequency rank
- #5,505
- “imposed” frequency rank
- 13552
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | impose | imposed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To physically lay or place (something) on another thing; to deposit, to put, to set. | simple past and past participle of impose |
Where the eye mixes impose and imposed
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between impose and imposed
A purely visual mix-up. impose (/ɪmˈpəʊz/) 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 extra letter(s) - “impose” sits inside “imposed”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13552, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
impose is recorded at frequency rank #8,047, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪmˈpəʊz/. 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 13552, this pair ranks #475,122 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of impose vs imposed
Shared letters: eimops. Private to "impose": -. Private to "imposed": d.
"impose" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "imposed" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "impose" and "imposed" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "impose" or "imposed"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "impose" 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 #475,122 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "impose" and "imposed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "implode vs impose". 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 #475,122 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.