Which to use
“torn” is a verb and “torts” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,306
- “torn” frequency rank
- #43,969
- “torts” frequency rank
- 50275
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | torn | torts |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | past participle of tear | Synonym of tort law (“the area of law dealing with wrongful acts, whether intentional or negligent, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to contracts, which cause injuries and can be remedied in civil courts, usually through the awarding of damages”). |
Where the eye mixes torn and torts
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between torn and torts
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: torn is /tɔːn/ while torts is /tɔːts/. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50275, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
torn is recorded at frequency rank #6,306, classified as averb, pronounced /tɔːn/. torts is at rank #43,969, tagged as anoun, pronounced /tɔːts/.
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 50275, this pair ranks #175,778 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of torn vs torts
Shared letters: ort. Private to "torn": n. Private to "torts": s.
"torn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "torts" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "torn" for "torts" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "torn" or "torts" 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 "torn" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "torts" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #175,778 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "torn" and "torts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "torts vs Toth". 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 #175,778 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.