Which to use
“stare” and “started” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,211
- “stare” frequency rank
- #405
- “started” frequency rank
- 8616
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stare | started |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To look fixedly (at something). | simple past and past participle of start |
Where the eye mixes stare and started
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses stare with started
A purely visual mix-up. stare (/stɛɚ/) and started ([ˈstɑɹɾɪd]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8616, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stare is recorded at frequency rank #8,211, classified as averb, pronounced /stɛɚ/. started is at rank #405, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈstɑɹɾɪd].
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 8616, this pair ranks #501,602 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stare vs started
Shared letters: aerst. Private to "stare": -. Private to "started": d.
"stare" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "started" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "stare" for "started" ever safe?
Which is more common, "stare" or "started"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "stare" and "started" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "stare" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "started" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #501,602 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stare" and "started" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "staph vs stare". 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 #501,602 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.