Which to use
“vested” and “vexed” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,159
- “vested” frequency rank
- #36,813
- “vexed” frequency rank
- 52972
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vested | vexed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Settled, fixed or absolute, with no contingencies. | annoyed, irritated or distressed |
Where the eye mixes vested and vexed
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. vested runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) 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 vested with vexed
A purely visual mix-up. vested (/ˈvɛstɪd/) and vexed (/ˈvɛkst/) 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 52972, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vested is recorded at frequency rank #16,159, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈvɛstɪd/. 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 52972, this pair ranks #152,709 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vested vs vexed
Shared letters: dev. Private to "vested": st. Private to "vexed": x.
"vested" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "vexed" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vested" for "vexed" ever safe?
Frequency check: "vested" vs "vexed" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "vested" 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 #152,709 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vested" 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 #152,709 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.