Which to use
“spared” and “squared” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,330
- “spared” frequency rank
- #17,499
- “squared” frequency rank
- 29829
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spared | squared |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of spare | simple past and past participle of square |
Where the eye mixes spared and squared
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: spared vs squared
A purely visual mix-up. spared (/ˈspɛɹd/) and squared (/skwɛəd/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29829, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
spared is recorded at frequency rank #12,330, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈspɛɹd/. squared is at rank #17,499, tagged as averb, pronounced /skwɛəd/.
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 29829, this pair ranks #359,652 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of spared vs squared
Shared letters: aders. Private to "spared": p. Private to "squared": qu.
"spared" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "squared" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "spared" for "squared" ever safe?
Which is more common, "spared" or "squared"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "spared" and "squared" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "spared" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "squared" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #359,652 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spared" and "squared" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "squalid vs squared". 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 #359,652 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.