replacevsreplacedTell them apart

Which to use

“replace” and “replaced” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,593
“replace” frequency rank
#2,755
“replaced” frequency rank
5348
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature replace replaced
Definition To restore to a former place, position, condition, etc.; to put back. simple past and past participle of replace

Where the eye mixes replace and replaced

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

7 ch
replace
8 ch
replaced

Visual trap between replace and replaced

A purely visual mix-up. replace (/ɹɪˈpleɪs/) and replaced (/ɹɪˈpleɪst/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “replace” sits inside “replaced”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5348, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

replace is recorded at frequency rank #2,593, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈpleɪs/. replaced is at rank #2,755, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈpleɪst/.

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 5348, this pair ranks #515,673 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of replace vs replaced

Shared letters: acelpr. Private to "replace": -. Private to "replaced": d.

"replace" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "replaced" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • replaceerplace · relpace · repalce · replacce · replaec · replcae · repllace · repplace
  • replacederplaced · relpaced · repalced · replacced · replacde · replacedd · replaecd · replcaed

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "replace" and "replaced" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɹɪˈpleɪs/ versus /ɹɪˈpleɪst/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "replace" vs "replaced" - which ranks higher?
"replace" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,593 in our English list, against #2,755 for "replaced". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "replace" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "replaced" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #515,673 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "replace" and "replaced" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "replace vs retrace". 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 #515,673 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list