Which to use
“defeated” is an adjective and “delegated” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,412
- “defeated” frequency rank
- #25,349
- “delegated” frequency rank
- 30761
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | defeated | delegated |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Subjugated, beaten, overcome. | simple past and past participle of delegate |
Where the eye mixes defeated and delegated
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. defeated runs 8 letters (CVCVVCVC) against delegated's 9 (CVCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: defeated vs delegated
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: defeated is /dɪˈfiːtəd/ while delegated is /ˈdɛlɪˌɡeɪtɪd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30761, 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/. delegated is at rank #25,349, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈdɛlɪˌɡeɪtɪd/.
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 30761, this pair ranks #351,782 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of defeated vs delegated
Shared letters: adet. Private to "defeated": f. Private to "delegated": gl.
"defeated" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC · "delegated" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "defeated" for "delegated" ever safe?
Which is more common, "defeated" or "delegated"?
After this comparison
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 "delegated" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #351,782 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "defeated" and "delegated" 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 #351,782 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.