Which to use
“stated” is a verb and “stately” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,880
- “stated” frequency rank
- #24,600
- “stately” frequency rank
- 26480
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stated | stately |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of state | Worthy of respect; dignified, regal. |
Where the eye mixes stated and stately
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between stated and stately
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: stated is /ˈsteɪtɪd/ while stately is /ˈsteɪtli/. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26480, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stated is recorded at frequency rank #1,880, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈsteɪtɪd/. stately is at rank #24,600, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈsteɪtli/.
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 26480, this pair ranks #386,416 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of stated vs stately
Shared letters: aest. Private to "stated": d. Private to "stately": ly.
"stated" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "stately" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "stated" for "stately" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "stated" or "stately" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "stated" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stately" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #386,416 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stated" and "stately" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "starkly vs stately". 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 #386,416 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.