decovsdecryWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: deco is a noun, decry is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“deco” is a noun and “decry” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#16,886
“deco” frequency rank
#47,010
“decry” frequency rank
63896
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature deco decry
Definition Decompression. To denounce as harmful.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set deco and decry apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
deco
5 ch
decry

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: deco is anoun and decryaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63896, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

deco is recorded at frequency rank #16,886, classified as anoun. decry is at rank #47,010, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɪˈkɹaɪ/.

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 63896, this pair ranks #80,520 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of deco vs decry

Shared letters: cde. Private to "deco": o. Private to "decry": ry.

"deco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "decry" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • decodceo · ddeco · decco · deoc · edco
  • decrydcery · ddecry · deccry · decrry · decryy · decyr · dercy · edcry

Frequency comparison

deco#16,886
decry#47,010

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "deco" and "decry" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "deco" is a noun and "decry" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "deco" or "decry"?
"deco" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,886 in our English list, against #47,010 for "decry". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering deco vs decry

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “deco”; for a verb, it's “decry”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “deco” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list