Which to use
“demise” and “device” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,866
- “demise” frequency rank
- #2,150
- “device” frequency rank
- 14016
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | demise | device |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The conveyance or transfer of an estate, either in fee for life or for years, most commonly the latter. | Any piece of equipment made for a particular purpose, especially a mechanical or electrical one. |
Where the eye mixes demise and device
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between demise and device
A purely visual mix-up. demise (/dɪˈmaɪz/) and device (/dɪˈvaɪs/) 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 14016, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
demise is recorded at frequency rank #11,866, classified as anoun, pronounced /dɪˈmaɪz/. device is at rank #2,150, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɪˈvaɪs/.
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 14016, this pair ranks #472,540 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of demise vs device
Shared letters: dei. Private to "demise": ms. Private to "device": cv.
"demise" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "device" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "demise" and "device" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "demise" or "device"?
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 "demise" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "device" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #472,540 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "demise" and "device" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "demise vs demure". 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 #472,540 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.