Which to use
“defeated” and “defended” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,412
- “defeated” frequency rank
- #7,118
- “defended” frequency rank
- 12530
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | defeated | defended |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Subjugated, beaten, overcome. | Having defenses. |
Where the eye mixes defeated and defended
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. defeated (CVCVVCVC) and defended (CVCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: defeated vs defended
A purely visual mix-up. defeated (/dɪˈfiːtəd/) and defended (/dɪˈfɛndɪd/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12530, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
defeated is recorded at frequency rank #5,412, classified as anadj, pronounced /dɪˈfiːtəd/. defended is at rank #7,118, tagged as anadj, pronounced /dɪˈfɛndɪd/.
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 12530, this pair ranks #481,023 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of defeated vs defended
Shared letters: def. Private to "defeated": at. Private to "defended": n.
"defeated" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC · "defended" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "defeated" for "defended" ever safe?
Frequency check: "defeated" vs "defended" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "defeated" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "defended" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #481,023 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "defeated" and "defended" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "defeated vs deflate". 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 #481,023 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.