quiltvsquiltedWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: quilt is a noun, quilted is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“quilt” is a noun and “quilted” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#21,036
“quilt” frequency rank
#37,180
“quilted” frequency rank
58216
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quilt quilted
Definition A bed covering consisting of two layers of fabric stitched together, with insulation between, often having a decorative design. Having the characteristics of a quilt; specifically, having two layers of cloth sewn together, with a layer of padding between them.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set quilt and quilted apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
quilt
7 ch
quilted

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

quilt and quilted form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “quilt” sits inside “quilted” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58216, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quilt is recorded at frequency rank #21,036, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkwɪlt/. quilted is at rank #37,180, tagged as anadj.

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 58216, this pair ranks #114,029 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Frequency comparison

quilt#21,036
quilted#37,180

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "quilt" and "quilted" be used interchangeably?
No, "quilt" and "quilted" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering quilt vs quilted

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “quilt”; for an adjective, it's “quilted”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “quilt” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list