Which to use
“paused” and “phased” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,689
- “paused” frequency rank
- #18,916
- “phased” frequency rank
- 36605
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | paused | phased |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of pause | simple past and past participle of phase |
Where the eye mixes paused and phased
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. paused (CVVCVC) and phased (CCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses paused with phased
A purely visual mix-up. paused (/pɔːzd/) and phased (/feɪzd/) 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 36605, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
paused is recorded at frequency rank #17,689, classified as averb, pronounced /pɔːzd/. phased is at rank #18,916, tagged as averb, pronounced /feɪzd/.
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 36605, this pair ranks #301,764 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of paused vs phased
Shared letters: adeps. Private to "paused": u. Private to "phased": h.
"paused" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "phased" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "paused" for "phased" ever safe?
Frequency check: "paused" vs "phased" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "paused" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "phased" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #301,764 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "paused" and "phased" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "paused vs pruned". 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 #301,764 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.