deemvsdexWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#18,536
“deem” frequency rank
#20,608
“dex” frequency rank
39144
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature deem dex
Definition To hold in belief or estimation; to adjudge as a conclusion; to regard as being; to evaluate according to one's beliefs; to account. An order or factor of ten.

Letter map: deem vs dex

Shared letters muted; letters that set deem and dex apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

4 ch
deem
3 ch
dex

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: deem is averb and dexanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39144, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

deem is recorded at frequency rank #18,536, classified as averb, pronounced /diːm/. dex is at rank #20,608, tagged as anoun.

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 39144, this pair ranks #279,406 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of deem vs dex

Shared letters: de. Private to "deem": m. Private to "dex": x.

"deem" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "dex" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • deemddeem · deemm · deme · edem

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "deem" and "dex" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "deem" is a verb and "dex" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "deem" or "dex"?
"deem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,536 in our English list, against #20,608 for "dex". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "deem" and "dex". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "deem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "dex" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #279,406 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "deem" and "dex" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dex vs dox". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list