Which to use
“shrink” and “shrunk” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,769
- “shrink” frequency rank
- #23,099
- “shrunk” frequency rank
- 33868
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | shrink | shrunk |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To cause to become smaller. | simple past and past participle of shrink |
Where the eye mixes shrink and shrunk
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses shrink with shrunk
A purely visual mix-up. shrink (/ˈʃɹɪŋk/) and shrunk (/ʃɹʌŋk/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - i in “shrink” becomes u in “shrunk”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33868, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
shrink is recorded at frequency rank #10,769, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈʃɹɪŋk/. shrunk is at rank #23,099, tagged as averb, pronounced /ʃɹʌŋk/.
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 33868, this pair ranks #325,682 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of shrink vs shrunk
Shared letters: hknrs. Private to "shrink": i. Private to "shrunk": u.
"shrink" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC · "shrunk" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "shrink" and "shrunk" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "shrink" or "shrunk"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "shrink" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "shrunk" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #325,682 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "shrink" and "shrunk" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Shauna vs shrunk". 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 #325,682 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.