Which to use
“scanning” is a verb and “stunning” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,931
- “scanning” frequency rank
- #4,556
- “stunning” frequency rank
- 15487
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | scanning | stunning |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of scan | Having an effect that stuns. |
Letter map: scanning vs stunning
Shared letters muted; letters that set scanning and stunning apart highlighted. Shared run: 6.
Role in the sentence - scanning and stunning
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: scanning is averb and stunninganadjective. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15487, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
scanning is recorded at frequency rank #10,931, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈskænɪŋ/. stunning is at rank #4,556, tagged as anadj.
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 15487, this pair ranks #463,653 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of scanning vs stunning
Shared letters: gins. Private to "scanning": ac. Private to "stunning": tu.
"scanning" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC · "stunning" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "scanning" for "stunning" ever safe?
Frequency check: "scanning" vs "stunning" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pair "scanning" vs "stunning" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "scanning" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stunning" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #463,653 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "scanning" and "stunning" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "scalping vs scanning". 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 #463,653 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.