Which to use
“defile” and “derive” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,153
- “defile” frequency rank
- #14,737
- “derive” frequency rank
- 58890
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | defile | derive |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To make (someone or something) physically dirty or unclean; to befoul, to soil. | To obtain or receive (something) from something else. |
Where the eye mixes defile and derive
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between defile and derive
A purely visual mix-up. defile (/dɪˈfaɪl/) and derive (/dɪˈɹaɪv/) 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 58890, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
defile is recorded at frequency rank #44,153, classified as averb, pronounced /dɪˈfaɪl/. derive is at rank #14,737, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɪˈɹaɪv/.
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 58890, this pair ranks #109,605 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of defile vs derive
Shared letters: dei. Private to "defile": fl. Private to "derive": rv.
"defile" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "derive" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "defile" for "derive" ever safe?
Which is more common, "defile" or "derive"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "defile" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "derive" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #109,605 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "defile" and "derive" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "defile vs defiled". 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 #109,605 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.