Which to use
“staring” and “startling” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,734
- “staring” frequency rank
- #17,252
- “startling” frequency rank
- 22986
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | staring | startling |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of stare | present participle and gerund of startle |
Where the eye mixes staring and startling
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between staring and startling
A purely visual mix-up. staring (/ˈstɛəɹɪŋ/) and startling (/ˈstɑɹ.tl̩.ɪŋ/) 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 22986, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
staring is recorded at frequency rank #5,734, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈstɛəɹɪŋ/. startling is at rank #17,252, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈstɑɹ.tl̩.ɪŋ/.
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 22986, this pair ranks #412,570 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of staring vs startling
Shared letters: aginrst. Private to "staring": -. Private to "startling": l.
"staring" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC · "startling" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "staring" and "startling" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "staring" vs "startling" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "staring" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "startling" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #412,570 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "staring" and "startling" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "snarling vs startling". 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 #412,570 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.