Which to use
“moldy” and “moody” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,277
- “moldy” frequency rank
- #11,253
- “moody” frequency rank
- 53530
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | moldy | moody |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Covered with mold. | Given to sudden or frequent changes of mind; temperamental. |
Where the eye mixes moldy and moody
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. moldy (CVCCV) and moody (CVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between moldy and moody
A purely visual mix-up. moldy (/ˈmoʊldi/) and moody (/ˈmuːdi/) 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 a single letter - l in “moldy” becomes o in “moody”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53530, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
moldy is recorded at frequency rank #42,277, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈmoʊldi/. 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 53530, this pair ranks #148,216 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of moldy vs moody
Shared letters: dmoy. Private to "moldy": l. Private to "moody": -.
"moldy" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "moody" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "moldy" and "moody" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "moldy" or "moody"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "moldy" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "moody" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #148,216 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "moldy" and "moody" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "moldy vs mossy". 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 #148,216 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.