Which to use
“widen” is a verb and “widest” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,113
- “widen” frequency rank
- #21,114
- “widest” frequency rank
- 42227
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | widen | widest |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To become wide or wider. | superlative form of wide: most wide |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set widen and widest apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: widen is /ˈwaɪdn̩/ while widest is /ˈwaɪdəst/. 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 42227, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
widen is recorded at frequency rank #21,113, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈwaɪdn̩/. widest is at rank #21,114, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈwaɪdəst/.
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 42227, this pair ranks #251,149 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of widen vs widest
Shared letters: deiw. Private to "widen": n. Private to "widest": st.
"widen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "widest" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "widen" and "widest" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "widen" or "widest"?
Remembering widen vs widest
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “widen”; for an adjective, it's “widest”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “widen” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable