Which to use
“sealed” and “stated” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,917
- “sealed” frequency rank
- #1,880
- “stated” frequency rank
- 7797
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sealed | stated |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of seal | simple past and past participle of state |
Where the eye mixes sealed and stated
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses sealed with stated
A purely visual mix-up. sealed (/siːld/) 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 7797, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sealed is recorded at frequency rank #5,917, classified as averb, pronounced /siːld/. 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 7797, this pair ranks #505,539 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sealed vs stated
Shared letters: ades. Private to "sealed": l. Private to "stated": t.
"sealed" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "stated" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sealed" and "stated" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "sealed" vs "stated" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sealed" 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 #505,539 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sealed" and "stated" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Seager vs sealed". 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 #505,539 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.