Which to use
“shrunken” is an adjective and “sunken” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #45,655
- “shrunken” frequency rank
- #20,793
- “sunken” frequency rank
- 66448
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | shrunken | sunken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Reduced in size as a result of shrinkage; shrivelled. | past participle of sink |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set shrunken and sunken apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: shrunken is anadjective and sunkenaverb. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66448, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
shrunken is recorded at frequency rank #45,655, classified as anadj. sunken is at rank #20,793, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈsʌŋkən/.
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 66448, this pair ranks #67,915 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of shrunken vs sunken
Shared letters: eknsu. Private to "shrunken": hr. Private to "sunken": -.
"shrunken" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC · "sunken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "shrunken" and "sunken" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "shrunken" or "sunken"?
Remembering shrunken vs sunken
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “shrunken”; for a verb, it's “sunken”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “shrunken” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable