behaved

/bɪˈheɪvd/

//bɪˈheɪvd// verb

"behaved" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“behaved” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #13,100 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#13,100
frequency rank, English
7
letters
10
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - simple past and past participle of behave

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

behaved vs braved
71% similar
behaved vs beloved
71% similar
behaved vs belated
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for behaved
PropertyValue
Headwordbehaved
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/bɪˈheɪvd/
Letters7
Frequency rank#13,100
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “behaved” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). behaved lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for behaved is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /bɪˈheɪvd/. Corpus data places it at rank #13,100 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "simple past and past participle of behave".

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for behaved, with forms such as "bbehaved", "beahved", and "behaevd". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "braved", "beloved", "belated", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct English form is behaved, spelled B-E-H-A-V-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of behave

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bbehaved,beahved,behaevd,behavde,behavedd,behavved,behhaved,behvaed,bheaved,ebhaved

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of behaved - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

bbehaved1beahved2behaevd2behavde2behavedd1behavved1behhaved1behvaed2
Edit distance from "behaved"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "behaved"?
"behaved" is spelled B-E-H-A-V-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /bɪˈheɪvd/.
What does "behaved" mean?
As a verb, "behaved" means: simple past and past participle of behave
What words are commonly confused with "behaved"?
"behaved" is commonly confused with "braved", "beloved", "belated". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "behaved"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "behaved" is /bɪˈheɪvd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "behaved" come from?
"behaved" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “behaved”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is B-E-H-A-V-E-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /bɪˈheɪvd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “braved” - see the side-by-side comparison. behaved vs braved
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list