Which to use
“delve” and “devolve” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,139
- “delve” frequency rank
- #37,886
- “devolve” frequency rank
- 62025
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | delve | devolve |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To dig into the ground, especially with a shovel. | To be inherited by someone else; to pass down upon the next person in a succession, especially through failure or loss of an earlier holder. |
Where the eye mixes delve and devolve
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses delve with devolve
A purely visual mix-up. delve (/dɛlv/) and devolve (/dɪˈvɒɫv/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62025, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
delve is recorded at frequency rank #24,139, classified as averb, pronounced /dɛlv/. devolve is at rank #37,886, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɪˈvɒɫv/.
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 62025, this pair ranks #90,798 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of delve vs devolve
Shared letters: delv. Private to "delve": -. Private to "devolve": o.
"delve" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "devolve" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "delve" and "devolve" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "delve" or "devolve" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "delve" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "devolve" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #90,798 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "delve" and "devolve" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "devalue vs devolve". 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 #90,798 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.