Which to use
“decision” and “decisions” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #847
- “decision” frequency rank
- #1,933
- “decisions” frequency rank
- 2780
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | decision | decisions |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The act of deciding. | plural of decision |
Where the eye mixes decision and decisions
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between decision and decisions
A purely visual mix-up. decision (/dɪˈsɪʒn̩/) and decisions (/dɪˈsɪʒənz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “decision” sits inside “decisions”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2780, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
decision is recorded at frequency rank #847, classified as anoun, pronounced /dɪˈsɪʒn̩/. decisions is at rank #1,933, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɪˈsɪʒənz/.
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 2780, this pair ranks #524,051 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of decision vs decisions
Shared letters: cdeinos. Private to "decision": -. Private to "decisions": -.
"decision" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC · "decisions" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "decision" and "decisions" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "decision" or "decisions"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "decision" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "decisions" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #524,051 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "decision" and "decisions" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decision vs Denison". 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 #524,051 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.