Which to use
“decides” is a verb and “devices” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,490
- “decides” frequency rank
- #2,530
- “devices” frequency rank
- 8020
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | decides | devices |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of decide | plural of device |
Where the eye mixes decides and devices
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses decides with devices
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: decides is /dɪˈsaɪdz/ while devices is /dəˈvaɪsɪz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8020, 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/. devices is at rank #2,530, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dəˈvaɪsɪz/.
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 8020, this pair ranks #504,476 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of decides vs devices
Shared letters: cdeis. Private to "decides": -. Private to "devices": v.
"decides" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "devices" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "decides" and "devices" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "decides" or "devices"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "decides" and "devices" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "decides" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "devices" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #504,476 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "decides" and "devices" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decibel vs decides". 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 #504,476 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.