Which to use
“decided” is a verb and “derided” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #846
- “decided” frequency rank
- #38,363
- “derided” frequency rank
- 39209
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | decided | derided |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of decide | Disparaged; subject to criticism or mockery. |
Letter map: decided vs derided
Shared letters muted; letters that set decided and derided apart highlighted. Shared run: 6.
Grammar separator: decided vs derided
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: decided is averb and deridedanadjective. On the page they differ by a single letter - c in “decided” becomes r in “derided”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39209, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
decided is recorded at frequency rank #846, classified as averb, pronounced /dɪˈsaɪ.dɪd/. derided is at rank #38,363, tagged as anadj.
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 39209, this pair ranks #278,806 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of decided vs derided
Shared letters: dei. Private to "decided": c. Private to "derided": r.
"decided" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "derided" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "decided" and "derided" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "decided" or "derided" show up more?
Useful next steps
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "decided" and "derided".
- Full dictionary entry for "decided" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "derided" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #278,806 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "decided" and "derided" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "defiled vs derided". 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 #278,806 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.