Which to use
“scarred” is a verb and “scoured” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,486
- “scarred” frequency rank
- #35,066
- “scoured” frequency rank
- 55552
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | scarred | scoured |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of scar | Wool that has undergone scouring to remove grease. |
Letter map: scarred vs scoured
Shared letters muted; letters that set scarred and scoured apart highlighted. Shared run: 5. scarred (CCVCCVC) and scoured (CCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Role in the sentence - scarred and scoured
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: scarred is averb and scouredanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55552, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
scarred is recorded at frequency rank #20,486, classified as averb, pronounced /skɑː(ɹ)d/. scoured is at rank #35,066, 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 55552, this pair ranks #132,767 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of scarred vs scoured
Shared letters: cders. Private to "scarred": a. Private to "scoured": ou.
"scarred" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "scoured" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "scarred" and "scoured" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "scarred" or "scoured" show up more?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "scarred" and "scoured".
- Full dictionary entry for "scarred" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "scoured" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #132,767 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "scarred" and "scoured" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "scorned vs scoured". 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 #132,767 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.