Which to use
“spate” is a noun and “stated” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,701
- “spate” frequency rank
- #1,880
- “stated” frequency rank
- 39581
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spate | stated |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A (sudden) flood or inundation of water; specifically, a flood in or overflow of a river or other watercourse due to heavy rain or melting snow; (uncountable, archaic) flooding, inundation. | simple past and past participle of state |
Where the eye mixes spate and stated
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. spate runs 5 letters (CCVCV) against stated's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses spate with stated
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: spate is /speɪt/ while stated is /ˈsteɪtɪd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39581, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
spate is recorded at frequency rank #37,701, classified as anoun, pronounced /speɪt/. stated is at rank #1,880, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈsteɪtɪd/.
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 39581, this pair ranks #275,369 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of spate vs stated
Shared letters: aest. Private to "spate": p. Private to "stated": d.
"spate" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "stated" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "spate" for "stated" ever safe?
Which is more common, "spate" or "stated"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "spate" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stated" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #275,369 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spate" and "stated" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sate vs spate". 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 #275,369 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.