Which to use
“torn” and “turns” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,306
- “torn” frequency rank
- #1,804
- “turns” frequency rank
- 8110
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | torn | turns |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | past participle of tear | third-person singular simple present indicative of turn |
Where the eye mixes torn and turns
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: torn vs turns
A purely visual mix-up. torn (/tɔːn/) and turns (/tɝnz/) 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 8110, 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/. turns is at rank #1,804, tagged as averb, pronounced /tɝnz/.
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 8110, this pair ranks #504,083 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of torn vs turns
Shared letters: nrt. Private to "torn": o. Private to "turns": su.
"torn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "turns" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "torn" for "turns" ever safe?
Frequency check: "torn" vs "turns" - which ranks higher?
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 "turns" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #504,083 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "torn" and "turns" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "torn 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 #504,083 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.