Which to use
“questioned” is a verb and “questions” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,954
- “questioned” frequency rank
- #739
- “questions” frequency rank
- 7693
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | questioned | questions |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of question | plural of question |
Where the eye mixes questioned and questions
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. questioned runs 10 letters (CVVCCVVCVC) against questions's 9 (CVVCCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses questioned with questions
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: questioned is /ˈkwɛst͡ʃənd/ while questions is /ˈkwɛst͡ʃənz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7693, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
questioned is recorded at frequency rank #6,954, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈkwɛst͡ʃənd/. questions is at rank #739, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkwɛst͡ʃənz/.
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 7693, this pair ranks #505,993 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of questioned vs questions
Shared letters: einoqstu. Private to "questioned": d. Private to "questions": -.
"questioned" · 10 letters · shape CVVCCVVCVC · "questions" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- questioned ← qeustioned · qquestioned · quesitoned · quesstioned · questinoed · questioend · questionde · questionedd
- questions ← qeustions · qquestions · quesitons · quesstions · questinos · questionns · questionss · questiosn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "questioned" for "questions" ever safe?
Which is more common, "questioned" or "questions"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "questioned" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "questions" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #505,993 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "questioned" and "questions" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "question vs questioned". 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 #505,993 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.