Which to use
“insult” and “insulted” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,240
- “insult” frequency rank
- #14,570
- “insulted” frequency rank
- 21810
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | insult | insulted |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To be insensitive, insolent, or rude to (somebody); to affront or demean (someone). | simple past and past participle of insult |
Where the eye mixes insult and insulted
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. insult runs 6 letters (VCCVCC) against insulted's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses insult with insulted
A purely visual mix-up. insult (/ɪnˈsʌlt/) and insulted (/ɪnˈsʌltɪd/) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “insult” sits inside “insulted”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21810, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
insult is recorded at frequency rank #7,240, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪnˈsʌlt/. insulted is at rank #14,570, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɪnˈsʌltɪd/.
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 21810, this pair ranks #421,195 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of insult vs insulted
Shared letters: ilnstu. Private to "insult": -. Private to "insulted": de.
"insult" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "insulted" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "insult" and "insulted" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "insult" vs "insulted" - 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 "insult" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "insulted" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #421,195 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "insult" and "insulted" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "insulate vs insulted". 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 #421,195 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.