Which to use
“decry” is a verb and “Derry” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #47,010
- “decry” frequency rank
- #22,643
- “Derry” frequency rank
- 69653
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | decry | Derry |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To denounce as harmful. | A city in northwestern Northern Ireland; also known as Londonderry. |
Where the eye mixes decry and Derry
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses decry with Derry
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: decry is /dɪˈkɹaɪ/ while Derry is /ˈdɛɹi/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - c in “decry” becomes r in “Derry”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69653, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
decry is recorded at frequency rank #47,010, classified as averb, pronounced /dɪˈkɹaɪ/. Derry is at rank #22,643, tagged as aname, pronounced /ˈdɛɹi/.
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 69653, this pair ranks #53,682 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of decry vs Derry
Shared letters: dery. Private to "decry": c. Private to "Derry": -.
"decry" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Derry" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "decry" for "Derry" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "decry" or "Derry" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "decry" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Derry" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #53,682 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "decry" and "Derry" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decry vs derp". 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 #53,682 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.