taskedvstestedConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#14,435
“tasked” frequency rank
#3,144
“tested” frequency rank
17579
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tasked tested
Definition simple past and past participle of task simple past and past participle of test

Where the eye mixes tasked and tested

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
tasked
6 ch
tested

Look-alike desk: tasked vs tested

A purely visual mix-up. tasked (/tæskt/) and tested (/ˈtɛstɪd/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17579, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tasked is recorded at frequency rank #14,435, classified as averb, pronounced /tæskt/. tested is at rank #3,144, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈtɛstɪd/.

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 17579, this pair ranks #450,473 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of tasked vs tested

Shared letters: dest. Private to "tasked": ak. Private to "tested": -.

"tasked" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "tested" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • taskedatsked · taksed · tasekd · taskde · taskedd · taskked · tassked · tsaked
  • testedetsted · tesetd · tessted · testde · testedd · testted · tetsed · tseted

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "tasked" and "tested" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/tæskt/ versus /ˈtɛstɪd/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "tasked" vs "tested" - which ranks higher?
"tested" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,144 in our English list, against #14,435 for "tasked". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "tasked" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tested" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #450,473 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tasked" and "tested" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tasked vs tasker". 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 #450,473 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list