# decays vs delay

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### decays
*verb · IPA /dɪˈkeɪz/ · frequency rank #42,595*
third-person singular simple present indicative of decay

### delay
*noun · IPA /dɪˈleɪ/ · frequency rank #3,618*
A period of time before an event occurs; the act of delaying; procrastination; lingering inactivity.

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