Which to use
“preyed” and “proved” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,823
- “preyed” frequency rank
- #3,126
- “proved” frequency rank
- 44949
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | preyed | proved |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of prey | simple past and past participle of prove |
Where the eye mixes preyed and proved
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. preyed (CCVVVC) and proved (CCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: preyed vs proved
A purely visual mix-up. preyed (/pɹeɪd/) and proved (/ˈpɹuːvd/) 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 44949, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
preyed is recorded at frequency rank #41,823, classified as averb, pronounced /pɹeɪd/. proved is at rank #3,126, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈpɹuːvd/.
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 44949, this pair ranks #225,842 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of preyed vs proved
Shared letters: depr. Private to "preyed": y. Private to "proved": ov.
"preyed" · 6 letters · shape CCVVVC · "proved" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "preyed" for "proved" ever safe?
Frequency check: "preyed" vs "proved" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "preyed" and "proved" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "preyed" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "proved" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #225,842 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "preyed" and "proved" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "preyed 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 #225,842 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.