Why "faired poorly" fares poorly: an error explained

Reviewed and edited by

Lloyd Cooper 30/09/2024, 19:17

English.me team member

What kind of error is it?

Faired poorly or fared poorly. What's correct?

Spelling error

Why do people make this mistake?

The error occurs because "faired" is a homophone of "fared". People often confuse homophones, as they sound identical but have different meanings and spellings. In this case, "faired" is a form of the word "fair", which means light in color or equitable, whereas "fared" is the correct past tense of "fare", meaning to perform or get along.

What is correct?

The correct term is "fared poorly", using "fared" as the past tense of "fare".

Examples of correct usage

She fared poorly on the exam because she didn't study.
The athlete fared poorly in the competition due to an injury.
During the storm, the town fared poorly, suffering significant damage.