Which to use
“shape” is a noun and “shapely” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,967
- “shape” frequency rank
- #49,631
- “shapely” frequency rank
- 51598
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | shape | shapely |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The status or condition of something | Having a pleasing shape, pleasant to look at. |
Where the eye mixes shape and shapely
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses shape with shapely
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: shape is /ʃeɪp/ while shapely is /ˈʃeɪpli/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “shape” sits inside “shapely”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51598, 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/. shapely is at rank #49,631, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈʃeɪpli/.
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 51598, this pair ranks #164,127 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of shape vs shapely
Shared letters: aehps. Private to "shape": -. Private to "shapely": ly.
"shape" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "shapely" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "shape" and "shapely" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "shape" or "shapely"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "shape" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "shapely" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #164,127 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "shape" and "shapely" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "shapely vs shaper". 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 #164,127 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.