Which to use
“withdraw” and “withdrew” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,644
- “withdraw” frequency rank
- #10,972
- “withdrew” frequency rank
- 17616
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | withdraw | withdrew |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To draw or pull (something) away or back from its original position or situation. | simple past of withdraw |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set withdraw and withdrew apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. withdraw (/wɪðˈdɹɔː/) and withdrew (/wɪðˈdɹuː/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - a in “withdraw” becomes e in “withdrew”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17616, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
withdraw is recorded at frequency rank #6,644, classified as averb, pronounced /wɪðˈdɹɔː/. withdrew is at rank #10,972, tagged as averb, pronounced /wɪðˈdɹuː/.
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 17616, this pair ranks #450,270 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of withdraw vs withdrew
Shared letters: dhirtw. Private to "withdraw": a. Private to "withdrew": e.
"withdraw" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC · "withdrew" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC