Which to use
“skated” and “spared” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,226
- “skated” frequency rank
- #12,330
- “spared” frequency rank
- 49556
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | skated | spared |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of skate | simple past and past participle of spare |
Where the eye mixes skated and spared
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between skated and spared
A purely visual mix-up. skated (/ˈskeɪtɪd/) and spared (/ˈspɛɹd/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49556, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
skated is recorded at frequency rank #37,226, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈskeɪtɪd/. spared is at rank #12,330, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈspɛɹd/.
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 49556, this pair ranks #182,493 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of skated vs spared
Shared letters: ades. Private to "skated": kt. Private to "spared": pr.
"skated" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "spared" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "skated" and "spared" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "skated" or "spared"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "skated" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spared" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #182,493 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "skated" and "spared" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "skated vs skirted". 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 #182,493 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.