racedvsravenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: raced is a adjective, raven is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#13,221
“raced” frequency rank
#9,805
“raven” frequency rank
23026
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature raced raven
Definition Pertaining to or marked in terms of race. Any of several, generally large, species of birds in the genus Corvus with lustrous black plumage; especially the common raven (Corvus corax).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set raced and raven apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
raced
5 ch
raven

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

raced and raven form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23026, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

raced is recorded at frequency rank #13,221, classified as anadj. raven is at rank #9,805, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɹeɪvn̩/.

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 23026, this pair ranks #412,264 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

raced#13,221
raven#9,805

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "raced" and "raven" be used interchangeably?
No, "raced" and "raven" 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 raced vs raven

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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