# dead vs del

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### dead
*adjective · IPA /dɛd/ · frequency rank #652*
No longer living; deceased. (Also used as a noun.)

### del
*noun · IPA /dɛl/ · frequency rank #4,150*
The symbol ∇ used to denote the gradient operator.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-09-03.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dead-vs-del