Which to use
“decides” is a verb and “derided” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,490
- “decides” frequency rank
- #38,363
- “derided” frequency rank
- 43853
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | decides | derided |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of decide | Disparaged; subject to criticism or mockery. |
Letter map: decides vs derided
Shared letters muted; letters that set decides and derided apart highlighted. Shared run: 5.
Grammar separator: decides vs derided
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: decides is averb and deridedanadjective. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43853, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
decides is recorded at frequency rank #5,490, classified as averb, pronounced /dɪˈsaɪdz/. 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 43853, this pair ranks #236,085 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of decides vs derided
Shared letters: dei. Private to "decides": cs. Private to "derided": r.
"decides" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "derided" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "decides" and "derided" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "decides" or "derided" show up more?
After this comparison
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "decides" and "derided".
- Full dictionary entry for "decides" 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 #236,085 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "decides" 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 #236,085 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.