Which to use
“decide” and “divide” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,715
- “decide” frequency rank
- #5,876
- “divide” frequency rank
- 7591
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | decide | divide |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To resolve (a contest, problem, dispute, etc.); to choose, determine, or settle. | To split or separate (something) into two or more parts. |
Where the eye mixes decide and divide
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: decide vs divide
A purely visual mix-up. decide (/dɪˈsaɪd/) and divide (/dɪˈvaɪd/) 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 7591, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
decide is recorded at frequency rank #1,715, classified as averb, pronounced /dɪˈsaɪd/. divide is at rank #5,876, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɪˈvaɪd/.
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 7591, this pair ranks #506,465 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of decide vs divide
Shared letters: dei. Private to "decide": c. Private to "divide": v.
"decide" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "divide" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "decide" and "divide" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "decide" vs "divide" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "decide" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "divide" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #506,465 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "decide" and "divide" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decibel vs decide". 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 #506,465 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.