Which to use
“denote” and “devoted” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,811
- “denote” frequency rank
- #5,318
- “devoted” frequency rank
- 25129
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | denote | devoted |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To indicate; to mark. | simple past and past participle of devote |
Where the eye mixes denote and devoted
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between denote and devoted
A purely visual mix-up. denote (/dɪˈnəʊt/) and devoted (/dɪˈvəʊtəd/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25129, 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/. devoted is at rank #5,318, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɪˈvəʊtəd/.
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 25129, this pair ranks #396,724 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of denote vs devoted
Shared letters: deot. Private to "denote": n. Private to "devoted": v.
"denote" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "devoted" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "denote" and "devoted" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "denote" vs "devoted" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
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 "devoted" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #396,724 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "denote" and "devoted" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "denote vs depose". 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 #396,724 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.