Which to use
“skated” and “swayed” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,226
- “skated” frequency rank
- #22,518
- “swayed” frequency rank
- 59744
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | skated | swayed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of skate | simple past and past participle of sway |
Where the eye mixes skated and swayed
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. skated (CCVCVC) and swayed (CCVVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses skated with swayed
A purely visual mix-up. skated (/ˈskeɪtɪd/) and swayed (/sweɪd/) 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 59744, 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/. swayed is at rank #22,518, tagged as averb, pronounced /sweɪd/.
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 59744, this pair ranks #104,351 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of skated vs swayed
Shared letters: ades. Private to "skated": kt. Private to "swayed": wy.
"skated" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "swayed" · 6 letters · shape CCVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "skated" and "swayed" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "skated" or "swayed"?
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 "skated" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "swayed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #104,351 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "skated" and "swayed" 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 #104,351 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.