Which to use
“decades” and “decrees” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,572
- “decades” frequency rank
- #26,393
- “decrees” frequency rank
- 28965
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | decades | decrees |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of decade. | plural of decree |
Where the eye mixes decades and decrees
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between decades and decrees
A purely visual mix-up. decades (/ˈdɛkeɪdz/) and decrees (/dəˈkɹiz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28965, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
decades is recorded at frequency rank #2,572, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈdɛkeɪdz/. decrees is at rank #26,393, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dəˈkɹiz/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 28965, this pair ranks #366,860 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of decades vs decrees
Shared letters: cdes. Private to "decades": a. Private to "decrees": r.
"decades" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "decrees" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "decades" and "decrees" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "decades" or "decrees"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "decades" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "decrees" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #366,860 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "decades" and "decrees" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decrees vs depress". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #366,860 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.