Which to use
“denote” and “depose” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,811
- “denote” frequency rank
- #43,107
- “depose” frequency rank
- 62918
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | denote | depose |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To indicate; to mark. | To put down; to lay down; to deposit; to lay aside; to put away. |
Where the eye mixes denote and depose
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. denote and depose follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: denote vs depose
A purely visual mix-up. denote (/dɪˈnəʊt/) and depose (/dɪˈpəʊz/) 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 62918, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
denote is recorded at frequency rank #19,811, classified as averb, pronounced /dɪˈnəʊt/. depose is at rank #43,107, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɪˈpəʊz/.
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 62918, this pair ranks #85,845 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of denote vs depose
Shared letters: deo. Private to "denote": nt. Private to "depose": ps.
"denote" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "depose" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "denote" for "depose" ever safe?
Frequency check: "denote" vs "depose" - 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 "denote" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "depose" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #85,845 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "denote" and "depose" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "depose vs Devos". 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 #85,845 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.