Which to use
“decision” and “derision” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #847
- “decision” frequency rank
- #36,955
- “derision” frequency rank
- 37802
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | decision | derision |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The act of deciding. | Act of treating with disdain. |
Where the eye mixes decision and derision
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between decision and derision
A purely visual mix-up. decision (/dɪˈsɪʒn̩/) and derision (/dɪˈɹɪʒən/) 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 a single letter - c in “decision” becomes r in “derision”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37802, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
decision is recorded at frequency rank #847, classified as anoun, pronounced /dɪˈsɪʒn̩/. derision is at rank #36,955, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɪˈɹɪʒən/.
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 37802, this pair ranks #291,383 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of decision vs derision
Shared letters: deinos. Private to "decision": c. Private to "derision": r.
"decision" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC · "derision" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "decision" and "derision" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "decision" or "derision" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "decision" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "derision" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #291,383 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "decision" and "derision" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Denison vs derision". 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 #291,383 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.