Which to use
“decays” and “degas” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,595
- “decays” frequency rank
- #42,085
- “degas” frequency rank
- 84680
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | decays | degas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of decay | To remove the gas from. |
Letter map: decays vs degas
Shared letters muted; letters that set decays and degas apart highlighted. Shared run: 4. decays runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against degas's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Corpus notes: decays and degas
decays and degas are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 84680, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
decays is recorded at frequency rank #42,595, classified as averb, pronounced /dɪˈkeɪz/. degas is at rank #42,085, tagged as averb.
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 84680, this pair ranks #11,661 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of decays vs degas
Shared letters: ades. Private to "decays": cy. Private to "degas": g.
"decays" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "degas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "decays" for "degas" ever safe?
Which is more common, "decays" or "degas"?
What to do next
Pair "decays" vs "degas" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "decays" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "degas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #11,661 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "decays" and "degas" 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 #11,661 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.