Which to use
“starred” and “started” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,125
- “starred” frequency rank
- #405
- “started” frequency rank
- 11530
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | starred | started |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of star | simple past and past participle of start |
Letter map: starred vs started
Shared letters muted; letters that set starred and started apart highlighted. Shared run: 6.
Pair insight - starred / started
starred and started are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by a single letter - r in “starred” becomes t in “started”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11530, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
starred is recorded at frequency rank #11,125, classified as averb. 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 11530, this pair ranks #486,510 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of starred vs started
Shared letters: aderst. Private to "starred": -. Private to "started": -.
"starred" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "started" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "starred" and "started" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "starred" or "started" show up more?
After this comparison
You've compared "starred" and "started". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "starred" 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 #486,510 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "starred" and "started" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stapled vs starred". 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 #486,510 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.