Which to use
“state” is a noun and “stated” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #163
- “state” frequency rank
- #1,880
- “stated” frequency rank
- 2043
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | state | stated |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A condition; a set of circumstances applying at any given time. | simple past and past participle of state |
Where the eye mixes state and stated
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: state vs stated
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: state is /steɪt/ while stated is /ˈsteɪtɪd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “state” sits inside “stated”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2043, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
state is recorded at frequency rank #163, classified as anoun, pronounced /steɪt/. 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 2043, this pair ranks #526,001 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of state vs stated
Shared letters: aest. Private to "state": -. Private to "stated": d.
"state" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "stated" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "state" and "stated" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "state" or "stated" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "state" 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 #526,001 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "state" and "stated" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stated vs stilted". 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 #526,001 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.