Which to use
“defuse” and “douse” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,609
- “defuse” frequency rank
- #47,588
- “douse” frequency rank
- 81197
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | defuse | douse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To remove the fuse from (e.g. a bomb). | To plunge suddenly into water; to duck; to immerse. |
Where the eye mixes defuse and douse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. defuse runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against douse's 5 (CVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between defuse and douse
A purely visual mix-up. defuse (/diːˈfjuːz/) and douse (/daʊs/) 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 81197, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
defuse is recorded at frequency rank #33,609, classified as averb, pronounced /diːˈfjuːz/. douse is at rank #47,588, tagged as averb, pronounced /daʊs/.
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 81197, this pair ranks #18,176 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of defuse vs douse
Shared letters: desu. Private to "defuse": f. Private to "douse": o.
"defuse" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "douse" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "defuse" and "douse" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "defuse" or "douse"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "defuse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "douse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #18,176 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "defuse" and "douse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dour vs douse". 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 #18,176 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.