incurredvsinterredWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#12,994
“incurred” frequency rank
#37,519
“interred” frequency rank
50513
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature incurred interred
Definition simple past and past participle of incur simple past and past participle of inter

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set incurred and interred apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
incurred
8 ch
interred

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

incurred and interred are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50513, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

incurred is recorded at frequency rank #12,994, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪnˈkɝd/. interred is at rank #37,519, tagged as averb.

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 50513, this pair ranks #173,592 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of incurred vs interred

Shared letters: deinr. Private to "incurred": cu. Private to "interred": t.

"incurred" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "interred" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • incurredicnurred · inccurred · incrured · incured · incurerd · incurrde · incurredd · inncurred
  • interredinetrred · innterred · intered · intererd · interrde · interredd · intrered · intterred

Frequency comparison

incurred#12,994
interred#37,519

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "incurred" and "interred" be used interchangeably?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "incurred" or "interred"?
"incurred" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,994 in our English list, against #37,519 for "interred". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering incurred vs interred

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 “incurred” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list