Which to use
“prove” is a verb and “proven” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,771
- “prove” frequency rank
- #4,111
- “proven” frequency rank
- 5882
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | prove | proven |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To demonstrate that something is true or viable; to give proof for; to bear out; to testify. | Having been proved; having proved its value or truth. |
Where the eye mixes prove and proven
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. prove runs 5 letters (CCVCV) against proven's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: prove vs proven
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: prove is /pɹuːv/ while proven is /ˈpɹuː.vn̩/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “prove” sits inside “proven”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5882, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
prove is recorded at frequency rank #1,771, classified as averb, pronounced /pɹuːv/. proven is at rank #4,111, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈpɹuː.vn̩/.
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 5882, this pair ranks #513,640 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of prove vs proven
Shared letters: eoprv. Private to "prove": -. Private to "proven": n.
"prove" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "proven" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "prove" for "proven" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "prove" or "proven" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "prove" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "proven" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #513,640 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "prove" and "proven" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "prove 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 #513,640 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.