quicken vs quicker, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“quicken” is a verb and “quicker” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#34,655
“quicken” frequency rank: #8,077
“quicker” frequency rank: 42732
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	quicken	quicker
Definition	Senses relating to life or states of activity.	comparative form of quick: more quick

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set quicken and quicker apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

quicken

7 ch

quicker

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: quicken is /ˈkwɪk(ə)n/ while quicker is /ˈkwɪkɚ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “quicken” becomes r in “quicker”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42732, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quicken is recorded at frequency rank #34,655, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈkwɪk(ə)n/. quicker is at rank #8,077, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈkwɪkɚ/.

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 42732, this pair ranks #246,576 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of quicken vs quicker

Shared letters: ceikqu. Private to "quicken": n. Private to "quicker": r.

"quicken" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "quicker" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

quicken ← qiucken · qquicken · quciken · quiccken · quicekn · quickenn · quickken · quickne
quicker ← qiucker · qquicker · quciker · quiccker · quicekr · quickerr · quickker · quickre

Frequency comparison

quicken#34,655

quicker#8,077

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "quicken" and "quicker" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "quicken" is a verb and "quicker" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "quicken" or "quicker"?

"quicker" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,077 in our English list, against #34,655 for "quicken". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering quicken vs quicker

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “quicken”; for an adjective, it's “quicker”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “quicken” entry
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