spared

/ˈspɛɹd/

//ˈspɛɹd// verb

"spared" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“spared” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #12,330 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#12,330
frequency rank, English
6
letters
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

spared vs sped
67% similar
spared vs speed
67% similar
spared vs spark
67% similar

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

Key facts for spared
PropertyValue
Headwordspared
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈspɛɹd/
Letters6
Frequency rank#12,330
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “spared” 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). spared 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 spared is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈspɛɹd/. Corpus data places it at rank #12,330 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 spare".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for spared, with forms such as "psared", "sapred", and "spaerd". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "sped", "speed", "spark", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is spared, spelled S-P-A-R-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of spare

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: psared,sapred,spaerd,sparde,sparedd,sparred,sppared,sspared

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of spared - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

psared2sapred2spaerd2sparde2sparedd1sparred1sppared1sspared1
Edit distance from "spared"

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 "spared"?
"spared" is spelled S-P-A-R-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈspɛɹd/.
What does "spared" mean?
As a verb, "spared" means: simple past and past participle of spare
What words are commonly confused with "spared"?
"spared" is commonly confused with "sped", "speed", "spark". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "spared"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "spared" is /ˈspɛɹd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "spared" come from?
"spared" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “spared”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is S-P-A-R-E-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈspɛɹd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “sped” - see the side-by-side comparison. spared vs sped
  • 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