stonedvsstoopedWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“stoned” and “stooped” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#15,518
“stoned” frequency rank
#49,653
“stooped” frequency rank
65171
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature stoned stooped
Definition simple past and past participle of stone simple past and past participle of stoop

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set stoned and stooped apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
stoned
7 ch
stooped

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. stoned (/stəʊnd/) and stooped (/stuːpt/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65171, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

stoned is recorded at frequency rank #15,518, classified as averb, pronounced /stəʊnd/. stooped is at rank #49,653, tagged as averb, pronounced /stuːpt/.

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 65171, this pair ranks #74,085 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of stoned vs stooped

Shared letters: deost. Private to "stoned": n. Private to "stooped": p.

"stoned" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "stooped" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • stonedsotned · sstoned · stnoed · stoend · stonde · stonedd · stonned · sttoned
  • stoopedsotoped · sstooped · stooepd · stoopde · stoopedd · stoopped · stopoed · sttooped

Frequency comparison

stoned#15,518
stooped#49,653

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "stoned" and "stooped" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/stəʊnd/ versus /stuːpt/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "stoned" or "stooped"?
"stoned" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,518 in our English list, against #49,653 for "stooped". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering stoned vs stooped

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “stoned” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list