Which to use
“operate” and “operated” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,013
- “operate” frequency rank
- #3,965
- “operated” frequency rank
- 6978
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | operate | operated |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To perform a work or labour; to exert power or strength, physical or mechanical; to act. | simple past and past participle of operate |
Where the eye mixes operate and operated
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between operate and operated
A purely visual mix-up. operate (/ˈɒpəɹeɪt/) and operated (/ˈɑpəɹeɪtɪd/) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “operate” sits inside “operated”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6978, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
operate is recorded at frequency rank #3,013, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈɒpəɹeɪt/. operated is at rank #3,965, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈɑpəɹeɪtɪd/.
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 6978, this pair ranks #509,150 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of operate vs operated
Shared letters: aeoprt. Private to "operate": -. Private to "operated": d.
"operate" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV · "operated" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "operate" for "operated" ever safe?
Which is more common, "operate" or "operated"?
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 "operate" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "operated" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #509,150 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "operate" and "operated" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "operable vs operate". 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 #509,150 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.