Which to use
“decree” and “degrees” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,316
- “decree” frequency rank
- #2,784
- “degrees” frequency rank
- 12100
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | decree | degrees |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An edict or law. | plural of degree |
Where the eye mixes decree and degrees
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses decree with degrees
A purely visual mix-up. decree (/dɪˈkɹiː/) and degrees (/dɪˈɡɹiːz/) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12100, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
decree is recorded at frequency rank #9,316, classified as anoun, pronounced /dɪˈkɹiː/. degrees is at rank #2,784, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɪˈɡɹiːz/.
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 12100, this pair ranks #483,425 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of decree vs degrees
Shared letters: der. Private to "decree": c. Private to "degrees": gs.
"decree" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "degrees" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "decree" for "degrees" ever safe?
Which is more common, "decree" or "degrees"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "decree" and "degrees" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "decree" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "degrees" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #483,425 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "decree" and "degrees" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decree vs decry". 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 #483,425 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.