# wade vs widen

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### wade
*verb · IPA /weɪd/ · frequency rank #7,409*
To walk through water or something that impedes progress.

### widen
*verb · IPA /ˈwaɪdn̩/ · frequency rank #21,113*
To become wide or wider.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wade-vs-widen