Which to use
“delicate” is an adjective and “delineate” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,003
- “delicate” frequency rank
- #49,285
- “delineate” frequency rank
- 56288
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | delicate | delineate |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Easily damaged or requiring careful handling. | To sketch out, draw or trace an outline. |
Where the eye mixes delicate and delineate
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. delicate runs 8 letters (CVCVCVCV) against delineate's 9 (CVCVCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between delicate and delineate
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: delicate is /ˈdɛl.ɪ.kət/ while delineate is /dɪˈlɪniːeɪt/. 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 56288, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
delicate is recorded at frequency rank #7,003, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈdɛl.ɪ.kət/. delineate is at rank #49,285, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɪˈlɪniːeɪt/.
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 56288, this pair ranks #127,349 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of delicate vs delineate
Shared letters: adeilt. Private to "delicate": c. Private to "delineate": n.
"delicate" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV · "delineate" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "delicate" and "delineate" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "delicate" or "delineate" show up more?
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 "delicate" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "delineate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #127,349 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "delicate" and "delineate" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deliberate vs delineate". 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 #127,349 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.