Which to use
“overload” is a verb and “overloaded” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,018
- “overload” frequency rank
- #24,537
- “overloaded” frequency rank
- 39555
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | overload | overloaded |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To load excessively. | loaded too heavily |
Letter map: overload vs overloaded
Shared letters muted; letters that set overload and overloaded apart highlighted. Shared run: 8.
Grammar separator: overload vs overloaded
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: overload is averb and overloadedanadjective. On the page they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “overload” sits inside “overloaded”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39555, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
overload is recorded at frequency rank #15,018, classified as averb, pronounced /ˌəʊvəˈləʊd/. overloaded is at rank #24,537, tagged as anadj.
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 39555, this pair ranks #275,599 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of overload vs overloaded
Shared letters: adelorv. Private to "overload": -. Private to "overloaded": -.
"overload" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVVC · "overloaded" · 10 letters · shape VCVCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- overload ← oevrload · ovelroad · overlaod · overlload · overloadd · overloda · overolad · overrload
- overloaded ← oevrloaded · ovelroaded · overlaoded · overlloaded · overloadde · overloadded · overloadedd · overloaedd
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "overload" for "overloaded" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "overload" or "overloaded" show up more?
What to do next
You've compared "overload" and "overloaded". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "overload" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "overloaded" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #275,599 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "overload" and "overloaded" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "overcoat vs overload". 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 #275,599 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.