Which to use
“wanted” and “wilted” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #439
- “wanted” frequency rank
- #47,423
- “wilted” frequency rank
- 47862
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | wanted | wilted |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Wished for; desired; sought. | Drooping, typically due to lack of water. |
Letter map: wanted vs wilted
Shared letters muted; letters that set wanted and wilted apart highlighted. Shared run: 4. wanted and wilted follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Spelling & dictionary notes on wanted vs wilted
wanted and wilted are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47862, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
wanted is recorded at frequency rank #439, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈwɒntɪd/. wilted is at rank #47,423, tagged as anadj.
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 47862, this pair ranks #198,486 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of wanted vs wilted
Shared letters: detw. Private to "wanted": an. Private to "wilted": il.
"wanted" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "wilted" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "wanted" and "wilted" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "wanted" or "wilted"?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "wanted" and "wilted".
- Full dictionary entry for "wanted" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "wilted" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #198,486 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "wanted" and "wilted" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Willey vs wilted". 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 #198,486 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.