Which to use
“defended” and “defined” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,118
- “defended” frequency rank
- #2,668
- “defined” frequency rank
- 9786
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | defended | defined |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Having defenses. | Having a definition or value. |
Where the eye mixes defended and defined
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: defended vs defined
A purely visual mix-up. defended (/dɪˈfɛndɪd/) and defined (/dɪˈfʌɪnd/) 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 9786, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
defended is recorded at frequency rank #7,118, classified as anadj, pronounced /dɪˈfɛndɪd/. defined is at rank #2,668, tagged as anadj, pronounced /dɪˈfʌɪnd/.
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 9786, this pair ranks #495,607 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of defended vs defined
Shared letters: defn. Private to "defended": -. Private to "defined": i.
"defended" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "defined" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "defended" and "defined" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "defended" vs "defined" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "defended" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "defined" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #495,607 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "defended" and "defined" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "defiled vs defined". 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 #495,607 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.