Which to use
“pester” and “posted” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #48,966
- “pester” frequency rank
- #1,146
- “posted” frequency rank
- 50112
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pester | posted |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To bother, harass, or annoy persistently. | simple past and past participle of post |
Where the eye mixes pester and posted
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses pester with posted
A purely visual mix-up. pester (/ˈpɛstə(ɹ)/) and posted (/ˈpoʊstɪd/) 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 50112, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pester is recorded at frequency rank #48,966, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈpɛstə(ɹ)/. posted is at rank #1,146, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈpoʊstɪd/.
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 50112, this pair ranks #177,253 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pester vs posted
Shared letters: epst. Private to "pester": r. Private to "posted": do.
"pester" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "posted" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "pester" and "posted" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "pester" or "posted" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pester" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "posted" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #177,253 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pester" and "posted" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pester vs Petey". 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 #177,253 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.