Which to use
“dejected” and “directed” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,358
- “dejected” frequency rank
- #2,479
- “directed” frequency rank
- 40837
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dejected | directed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Sad and dispirited. | In a manner emphasizing one's point of view. |
Where the eye mixes dejected and directed
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between dejected and directed
A purely visual mix-up. dejected (/dɪˈdʒɛktəd/) and directed (/dɪˈɹɛktɪd/) 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 40837, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dejected is recorded at frequency rank #38,358, classified as anadj, pronounced /dɪˈdʒɛktəd/. directed is at rank #2,479, tagged as anadj, pronounced /dɪˈɹɛktɪd/.
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 40837, this pair ranks #263,942 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dejected vs directed
Shared letters: cdet. Private to "dejected": j. Private to "directed": ir.
"dejected" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "directed" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dejected" for "directed" ever safe?
Frequency check: "dejected" vs "directed" - 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 "dejected" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "directed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #263,942 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dejected" and "directed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dejected vs demented". 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 #263,942 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.