Which to use
“delusion” and “derision” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,815
- “delusion” frequency rank
- #36,955
- “derision” frequency rank
- 54770
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | delusion | derision |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A false belief that is resistant to confrontation with actual facts. | Act of treating with disdain. |
Where the eye mixes delusion and derision
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. delusion and derision follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: delusion vs derision
A purely visual mix-up. delusion (/dɪˈl(j)uːʒ(ə)n/) and derision (/dɪˈɹɪʒən/) 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 54770, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
delusion is recorded at frequency rank #17,815, classified as anoun, pronounced /dɪˈl(j)uːʒ(ə)n/. derision is at rank #36,955, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɪˈɹɪʒən/.
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 54770, this pair ranks #138,582 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of delusion vs derision
Shared letters: deinos. Private to "delusion": lu. Private to "derision": r.
"delusion" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC · "derision" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "delusion" for "derision" ever safe?
Which is more common, "delusion" or "derision"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "delusion" and "derision" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "delusion" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "derision" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #138,582 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "delusion" and "derision" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Denison vs derision". 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 #138,582 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.