Which to use
“deliver” and “delves” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,724
- “deliver” frequency rank
- #41,077
- “delves” frequency rank
- 43801
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | deliver | delves |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To set free from restraint or danger. | third-person singular simple present indicative of delve |
Where the eye mixes deliver and delves
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. deliver runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against delves's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: deliver vs delves
A purely visual mix-up. deliver (/dɪˈlɪvə(ɹ)/) and delves (/dɛlvz/) 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 43801, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
deliver is recorded at frequency rank #2,724, classified as averb, pronounced /dɪˈlɪvə(ɹ)/. delves is at rank #41,077, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɛlvz/.
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 43801, this pair ranks #236,559 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of deliver vs delves
Shared letters: delv. Private to "deliver": ir. Private to "delves": s.
"deliver" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "delves" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "deliver" and "delves" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "deliver" vs "delves" - which ranks higher?
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 "deliver" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "delves" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #236,559 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "deliver" and "delves" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "delved vs delves". 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 #236,559 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.