Which to use
“pled” and “pulled” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,395
- “pled” frequency rank
- #2,172
- “pulled” frequency rank
- 42567
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pled | pulled |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of plead | simple past and past participle of pull |
Where the eye mixes pled and pulled
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between pled and pulled
A purely visual mix-up. pled (/plɛd/) and pulled (/pʊld/) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42567, 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/. pulled is at rank #2,172, tagged as averb, pronounced /pʊld/.
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 42567, this pair ranks #248,012 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pled vs pulled
Shared letters: delp. Private to "pled": -. Private to "pulled": u.
"pled" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "pulled" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pled" for "pulled" ever safe?
Which is more common, "pled" or "pulled"?
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 "pled" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pulled" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #248,012 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pled" and "pulled" 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 #248,012 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.