moldvsmoodyWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: mold is a noun, moody is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mold” is a noun and “moody” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,089
“mold” frequency rank
#11,253
“moody” frequency rank
21342
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mold moody
Definition A hollow form or matrix for shaping a fluid or plastic substance. Given to sudden or frequent changes of mind; temperamental.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mold and moody apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
mold
5 ch
moody

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

mold and moody form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21342, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mold is recorded at frequency rank #10,089, classified as anoun, pronounced /məʊld/. moody is at rank #11,253, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈmuːdi/.

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 21342, this pair ranks #424,591 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

mold#10,089
moody#11,253

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mold" and "moody" be used interchangeably?
No, "mold" and "moody" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering mold vs moody

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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