Which to use
“intend” is a verb and “intended” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,152
- “intend” frequency rank
- #2,045
- “intended” frequency rank
- 8197
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | intend | intended |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To fix the mind upon (something, or something to be accomplished); be intent upon | Planned. |
Where the eye mixes intend and intended
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. intend runs 6 letters (VCCVCC) against intended's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses intend with intended
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: intend is /ɪnˈtɛnd/ while intended is /ɪnˈtɛndɪd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “intend” sits inside “intended”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8197, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
intend is recorded at frequency rank #6,152, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪnˈtɛnd/. intended is at rank #2,045, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɪnˈtɛndɪd/.
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 8197, this pair ranks #503,713 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of intend vs intended
Shared letters: deint. Private to "intend": -. Private to "intended": -.
"intend" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "intended" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "intend" and "intended" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "intend" vs "intended" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "intend" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "intended" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #503,713 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "intend" and "intended" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "indented vs intended". 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 #503,713 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.