Which to use
“dependant” and “dependent” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,133
- “dependant” frequency rank
- #4,440
- “dependent” frequency rank
- 35573
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dependant | dependent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Obsolete spelling of dependent. | Relying upon; depending upon. |
Same sound, different letters: dependant vs dependent
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 8 letters.
Ear matches; page differs - dependant and dependent
This is the hard kind. dependant and dependent are pronounced identically (/dɪˈpɛndənt/) and both work as anadjective. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by a single letter - a in “dependant” becomes e in “dependent”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35573, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dependant is recorded at frequency rank #31,133, classified as anadj, pronounced /dɪˈpɛndənt/. dependent is at rank #4,440, tagged as anadj, pronounced /dɪˈpɛndənt/.
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 35573, this pair ranks #310,803 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dependant vs dependent
Shared letters: denpt. Private to "dependant": a. Private to "dependent": -.
"dependant" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC · "dependent" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dependant" and "dependent" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "dependant" or "dependent" show up more?
After this comparison
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "dependant" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dependent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #310,803 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dependant" and "dependent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dependant vs descendant". 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 #310,803 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.