Which to use
“pled” and “pledge” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,395
- “pled” frequency rank
- #7,167
- “pledge” frequency rank
- 47562
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pled | pledge |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of plead | To make a solemn promise (to do something). |
Where the eye mixes pled and pledge
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between pled and pledge
A purely visual mix-up. pled (/plɛd/) and pledge (/plɛd͡ʒ/) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “pled” sits inside “pledge”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47562, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pled is recorded at frequency rank #40,395, classified as averb, pronounced /plɛd/. pledge is at rank #7,167, tagged as averb, pronounced /plɛd͡ʒ/.
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 47562, this pair ranks #201,310 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pled vs pledge
Shared letters: delp. Private to "pled": -. Private to "pledge": g.
"pled" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "pledge" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pled" for "pledge" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "pled" or "pledge" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pled" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pledge" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #201,310 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pled" and "pledge" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pled vs plied". 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 #201,310 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.