Which to use
“secrete” is an adjective and “secreted” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,891
- “secrete” frequency rank
- #30,963
- “secreted” frequency rank
- 71854
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | secrete | secreted |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Separated. | simple past and past participle of secret |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set secrete and secreted apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: secrete is /sɪˈkɹiːt/ while secreted is /ˈsiːkɹə.tɪd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “secrete” sits inside “secreted”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71854, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
secrete is recorded at frequency rank #40,891, classified as anadj, pronounced /sɪˈkɹiːt/. secreted is at rank #30,963, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈsiːkɹə.tɪd/.
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 71854, this pair ranks #45,119 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of secrete vs secreted
Shared letters: cerst. Private to "secrete": -. Private to "secreted": d.
"secrete" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "secreted" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "secrete" and "secreted" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "secrete" or "secreted"?
Remembering secrete vs secreted
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “secrete”; for a verb, it's “secreted”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “secrete” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable