razedvsrazerWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#37,652
“razed” frequency rank
#34,663
“razer” frequency rank
72315
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature razed razer
Definition Slashed or striped in patterns. Someone who razes.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set razed and razer apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
razed
5 ch
razer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: razed is anadjective and razeranoun. On the page they differ by a single letter - d in “razed” becomes r in “razer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72315, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

razed is recorded at frequency rank #37,652, classified as anadj. razer is at rank #34,663, tagged as anoun.

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 72315, this pair ranks #43,462 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of razed vs razer

Shared letters: aerz. Private to "razed": d. Private to "razer": -.

"razed" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "razer" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • razedarzed · raezd · razde · razedd · razzed · rrazed · rzaed
  • razerarzer · raezr · razerr · razre · razzer · rrazer · rzaer

Frequency comparison

razed#37,652
razer#34,663

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "razed" and "razer" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "razed" is an adjective and "razer" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "razed" or "razer"?
"razer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,663 in our English list, against #37,652 for "razed". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering razed vs razer

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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