# shrugging vs struggling

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### shrugging
*verb · IPA /ˈʃɹʌɡɪŋ/ · frequency rank #45,654*
present participle and gerund of shrug

### struggling
*verb · IPA /ˈstɹʌɡl̩ɪŋ/ · frequency rank #4,125*
present participle and gerund of struggle

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shrugging-vs-struggling