inducedvsindulgedWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: induced is a verb, indulged is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

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 spellings diverge

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

7 ch
induced
8 ch
indulged

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

  • inducedidnuced · indcued · indduced · inducced · inducde · inducedd · induecd · innduced
  • indulgedidnulged · inddulged · indluged · indugled · indulegd · indulgde · indulgedd · indulgged

Frequency comparison

induced#6,696
indulged#30,093

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "induced" and "indulged" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "induced" is a verb and "indulged" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "induced" or "indulged"?
"induced" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,696 in our English list, against #30,093 for "indulged". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering induced vs indulged

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “induced”; for an adjective, it's “indulged”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “induced” 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