transformvstransformedTell them apart

Which to use

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

#6,751
“transform” frequency rank
#6,309
“transformed” frequency rank
13060
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature transform transformed
Definition To change greatly the appearance or form of. simple past and past participle of transform

Where the eye mixes transform and transformed

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.

9 ch
transform
11 ch
transformed

Look-alike desk: transform vs transformed

A purely visual mix-up. transform (/tɹænsˈfɔːm/) and transformed (/tɹænsˈfɔːmd/) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “transform” sits inside “transformed”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13060, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

transform is recorded at frequency rank #6,751, classified as averb, pronounced /tɹænsˈfɔːm/. transformed is at rank #6,309, tagged as averb, pronounced /tɹænsˈfɔːmd/.

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 13060, this pair ranks #477,993 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of transform vs transformed

Shared letters: afmnorst. Private to "transform": -. Private to "transformed": de.

"transform" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCCVCC  ·  "transformed" · 11 letters · shape CCVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • transformrtansform · tarnsform · tranfsorm · trannsform · transfform · transfomr · transformm · transforrm
  • transformedrtansformed · tarnsformed · tranfsormed · trannsformed · transfformed · transfomred · transforemd · transformde

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "transform" for "transformed" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/tɹænsˈfɔːm/ versus /tɹænsˈfɔːmd/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary English text, does "transform" or "transformed" show up more?
"transformed" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,309 in our English list, against #6,751 for "transform". 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 "transform" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "transformed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #477,993 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "transform" and "transformed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "transform vs transformer". 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 #477,993 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