Which to use
“withheld” is an adjective and “withhold” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,224
- “withheld” frequency rank
- #20,269
- “withhold” frequency rank
- 38493
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | withheld | withhold |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | That has been kept or held back from the possession or knowledge of another. | To keep (a physical object that one has obtained) to oneself rather than giving it back to its owner. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set withheld and withhold apart are highlighted. They share 7 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: withheld is /wɪθˈhɛld/ while withhold is /wɪθˈhəʊld/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “withheld” becomes o in “withhold”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38493, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
withheld is recorded at frequency rank #18,224, classified as anadj, pronounced /wɪθˈhɛld/. withhold is at rank #20,269, tagged as averb, pronounced /wɪθˈhəʊld/.
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 38493, this pair ranks #285,441 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of withheld vs withhold
Shared letters: dhiltw. Private to "withheld": e. Private to "withhold": o.
"withheld" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC · "withhold" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "withheld" and "withhold" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "withheld" or "withhold"?
Remembering withheld vs withhold
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “withheld”; for a verb, it's “withhold”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “withheld” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable