Which to use
“sacred” and “shared” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,794
- “sacred” frequency rank
- #2,128
- “shared” frequency rank
- 6922
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sacred | shared |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Characterized by solemn religious ceremony or religious use, especially, in a positive sense; consecrated, made holy. | Used by multiple entities or for multiple purposes or in multiple ways. |
Where the eye mixes sacred and shared
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sacred vs shared
A purely visual mix-up. sacred (/ˈseɪkɹɪd/) and shared (/ʃɛːd/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6922, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sacred is recorded at frequency rank #4,794, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈseɪkɹɪd/. shared is at rank #2,128, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ʃɛːd/.
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 6922, this pair ranks #509,394 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sacred vs shared
Shared letters: aders. Private to "sacred": c. Private to "shared": h.
"sacred" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "shared" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sacred" and "shared" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "sacred" or "shared" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sacred" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "shared" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #509,394 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sacred" and "shared" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "shared vs Sharkey". 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 #509,394 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.