scaledvsstatedConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#14,014
“scaled” frequency rank
#1,880
“stated” frequency rank
15894
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature scaled stated
Definition simple past and past participle of scale simple past and past participle of state

Where the eye mixes scaled and stated

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
scaled
6 ch
stated

Visual trap between scaled and stated

A purely visual mix-up. scaled (/skeɪld/) and stated (/ˈsteɪtɪd/) 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 15894, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

scaled is recorded at frequency rank #14,014, classified as averb, pronounced /skeɪld/. stated is at rank #1,880, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈsteɪtɪd/.

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 15894, this pair ranks #461,150 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of scaled vs stated

Shared letters: ades. Private to "scaled": cl. Private to "stated": t.

"scaled" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "stated" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • scaledcsaled · sacled · scaeld · scalde · scaledd · scalled · sccaled · sclaed
  • statedsatted · sstated · staetd · statde · statedd · statted · sttaed · sttated

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "scaled" for "stated" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/skeɪld/ versus /ˈsteɪtɪd/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "scaled" or "stated"?
"stated" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,880 in our English list, against #14,014 for "scaled". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "scaled" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "stated" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #461,150 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "scaled" and "stated" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "scaled vs sealer". 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 #461,150 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