Which to use
“widening” is an adjective and “winning” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,386
- “widening” frequency rank
- #1,132
- “winning” frequency rank
- 17518
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | widening | winning |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Growing wider or farther apart. | present participle and gerund of win |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set widening and winning apart are highlighted. They share 6 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: widening is /ˈwaɪdənɪŋ/ while winning is /ˈwɪnɪŋ/. 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 17518, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
widening is recorded at frequency rank #16,386, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈwaɪdənɪŋ/. winning is at rank #1,132, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈwɪnɪŋ/.
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 17518, this pair ranks #450,926 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of widening vs winning
Shared letters: ginw. Private to "widening": de. Private to "winning": -.
"widening" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC · "winning" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "widening" and "winning" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "widening" or "winning"?
Remembering widening vs winning
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “widening”; for a verb, it's “winning”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “widening” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable