Which to use
“veer” is a verb and “vexed” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,420
- “veer” frequency rank
- #36,813
- “vexed” frequency rank
- 65233
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | veer | vexed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To let out (a sail-line), to allow (a sheet) to run out. | annoyed, irritated or distressed |
Where the eye mixes veer and vexed
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. veer runs 4 letters (CVVC) against vexed's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses veer with vexed
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: veer is /vɪə̯/ while vexed is /ˈvɛkst/. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65233, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
veer is recorded at frequency rank #28,420, classified as averb, pronounced /vɪə̯/. vexed is at rank #36,813, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈvɛkst/.
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 65233, this pair ranks #73,801 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of veer vs vexed
Shared letters: ev. Private to "veer": r. Private to "vexed": dx.
"veer" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "vexed" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "veer" and "vexed" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "veer" or "vexed" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "veer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vexed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #73,801 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "veer" and "vexed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "veep vs vexed". 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 #73,801 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.