Which to use
“induced” is a verb and “indulged” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,696
- “induced” frequency rank
- #30,093
- “indulged” frequency rank
- 36789
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | induced | indulged |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of induce | Having had all desires, wishes, and whims granted; having been brought up lavishly, wanting for nothing. |
Where the eye mixes induced and indulged
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. induced runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against indulged's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses induced with indulged
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: induced is /ɪnˈdust/ while indulged is /ɪnˈdʌld͡ʒd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36789, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
induced is recorded at frequency rank #6,696, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪnˈdust/. indulged is at rank #30,093, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɪnˈdʌld͡ʒd/.
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 36789, this pair ranks #300,127 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of induced vs indulged
Shared letters: deinu. Private to "induced": c. Private to "indulged": gl.
"induced" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "indulged" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "induced" and "indulged" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "induced" or "indulged" show up more?
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 "induced" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "indulged" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #300,127 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "induced" and "indulged" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "indulged vs indulgent". 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 #300,127 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.