Which to use
“prod” and “proved” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,030
- “prod” frequency rank
- #3,126
- “proved” frequency rank
- 24156
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | prod | proved |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To poke, to push, to touch. | simple past and past participle of prove |
Where the eye mixes prod and proved
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses prod with proved
A purely visual mix-up. prod (/pɹɒd/) 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 differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24156, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
prod is recorded at frequency rank #21,030, classified as averb, pronounced /pɹɒd/. 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 24156, this pair ranks #404,047 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of prod vs proved
Shared letters: dopr. Private to "prod": -. Private to "proved": ev.
"prod" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "proved" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "prod" and "proved" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "prod" vs "proved" - which ranks higher?
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 "prod" 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 #404,047 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "prod" and "proved" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "prod vs prude". 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 #404,047 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.