Which to use
“shape” is a noun and “shaped” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,967
- “shape” frequency rank
- #3,784
- “shaped” frequency rank
- 5751
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | shape | shaped |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The status or condition of something | Having been given a shape, especially a curved shape. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set shape and shaped apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
shape and shaped form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “shape” sits inside “shaped” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5751, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
shape is recorded at frequency rank #1,967, classified as anoun, pronounced /ʃeɪp/. shaped is at rank #3,784, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ʃeɪpt/.
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 5751, this pair ranks #514,131 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "shape" and "shaped" be used interchangeably?
Remembering shape vs shaped
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “shape”; for an adjective, it's “shaped”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “shape” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable