intendingvsinventingWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: intending is a noun, inventing is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“intending” is a noun and “inventing” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,197
“intending” frequency rank
#20,395
“inventing” frequency rank
35592
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature intending inventing
Definition The process by which one intends something; intention. present participle and gerund of invent

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set intending and inventing apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
intending
9 ch
inventing

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: intending is anoun and inventingaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35592, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

intending is recorded at frequency rank #15,197, classified as anoun. inventing is at rank #20,395, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈɪnvɛntɪŋ/.

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 35592, this pair ranks #310,659 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of intending vs inventing

Shared letters: egint. Private to "intending": d. Private to "inventing": v.

"intending" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC  ·  "inventing" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • intendinginetnding · inntending · intedning · intendding · intendign · intendingg · intendinng · intendnig
  • inventinginevnting · innventing · invenitng · invennting · inventign · inventingg · inventinng · inventnig

Frequency comparison

intending#15,197
inventing#20,395

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "intending" and "inventing" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "intending" is a noun and "inventing" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "intending" or "inventing"?
"intending" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,197 in our English list, against #20,395 for "inventing". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering intending vs inventing

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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