Which to use
“Denning” is a name and “denying” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #42,086
- “Denning” frequency rank
- #7,673
- “denying” frequency rank
- 49759
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Denning | denying |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A surname. | present participle and gerund of deny |
Letter map: Denning vs denying
Shared letters muted; letters that set Denning and denying apart highlighted. Shared run: 6. Denning (CVCCVCC) and denying (CVCVVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Grammar separator: Denning vs denying
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: Denning is aname and denyingaverb. On the page they differ by a single letter - n in “Denning” becomes y in “denying”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49759, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Denning is recorded at frequency rank #42,086, classified as aname. denying is at rank #7,673, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɪˈnaɪ.ɪŋ/.
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 49759, this pair ranks #180,581 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Denning vs denying
Shared letters: degin. Private to "Denning": -. Private to "denying": y.
"Denning" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "denying" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Denning" and "denying" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Denning" vs "denying" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "Denning" and "denying".
- Full dictionary entry for "Denning" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "denying" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #180,581 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Denning" and "denying" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deeming vs Denning". 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 #180,581 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.