Which to use
“decayed” is an adjective and “decays” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,246
- “decayed” frequency rank
- #42,595
- “decays” frequency rank
- 77841
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | decayed | decays |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Having undergone decay, rotted. | third-person singular simple present indicative of decay |
Where the eye mixes decayed and decays
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses decayed with decays
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: decayed is /dɪˈkeɪd/ while decays is /dɪˈkeɪz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77841, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
decayed is recorded at frequency rank #35,246, classified as anadj, pronounced /dɪˈkeɪd/. decays is at rank #42,595, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɪˈkeɪz/.
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 77841, this pair ranks #26,151 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of decayed vs decays
Shared letters: acdey. Private to "decayed": -. Private to "decays": s.
"decayed" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVVC · "decays" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "decayed" and "decays" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "decayed" or "decays"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "decayed" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "decays" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #26,151 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "decayed" and "decays" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decays vs decry". 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 #26,151 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.