# deafening vs defending

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### deafening
*adjective · IPA /ˈdɛfənɪŋ(ɡ)/ · frequency rank #29,624*
Loud enough to cause temporary or permanent hearing loss.

### defending
*verb · IPA /dəˈfɛndɪŋ/ · frequency rank #4,075*
present participle and gerund of defend

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deafening-vs-defending