Which to use
“loaded” and “longed” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,687
- “loaded” frequency rank
- #26,496
- “longed” frequency rank
- 31183
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | loaded | longed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of load | simple past and past participle of long |
Where the eye mixes loaded and longed
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses loaded with longed
A purely visual mix-up. loaded (/ˈləʊ.dəd/) and longed (/ˈlɔŋd/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31183, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
loaded is recorded at frequency rank #4,687, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈləʊ.dəd/. longed is at rank #26,496, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈlɔŋd/.
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 31183, this pair ranks #348,296 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of loaded vs longed
Shared letters: delo. Private to "loaded": a. Private to "longed": gn.
"loaded" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "longed" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "loaded" for "longed" ever safe?
Frequency check: "loaded" vs "longed" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "loaded" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "longed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #348,296 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "loaded" and "longed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lodger vs longed". 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 #348,296 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.