Which to use
“void” is an adjective and “vowed” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,082
- “void” frequency rank
- #17,518
- “vowed” frequency rank
- 24600
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | void | vowed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Containing nothing; empty; not occupied or filled. | past participle of vow |
Where the eye mixes void and vowed
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses void with vowed
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: void is /vɔɪd/ while vowed is /vaʊd/. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24600, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
void is recorded at frequency rank #7,082, classified as anadj, pronounced /vɔɪd/. vowed is at rank #17,518, tagged as averb, pronounced /vaʊd/.
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 24600, this pair ranks #400,774 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of void vs vowed
Shared letters: dov. Private to "void": i. Private to "vowed": ew.
"void" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "vowed" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "void" and "vowed" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "void" or "vowed" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "void" and "vowed" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "void" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vowed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #400,774 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "void" and "vowed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vole vs vowed". 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 #400,774 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.