Which to use
“tempted” and “tested” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,870
- “tempted” frequency rank
- #3,144
- “tested” frequency rank
- 12014
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tempted | tested |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of tempt | simple past and past participle of test |
Where the eye mixes tempted and tested
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses tempted with tested
A purely visual mix-up. tempted (/ˈtɛmptɪd/) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12014, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tempted is recorded at frequency rank #8,870, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈtɛmptɪd/. 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 12014, this pair ranks #483,891 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tempted vs tested
Shared letters: det. Private to "tempted": mp. Private to "tested": s.
"tempted" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "tested" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tempted" and "tested" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "tempted" or "tested"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "tempted" and "tested" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "tempted" 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 #483,891 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tempted" and "tested" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "teared vs tested". 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 #483,891 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.