# depress vs duress

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### depress
*verb · IPA /dɪˈpɹɛs/ · frequency rank #34,464*
To press down.

### duress
*noun · IPA /djʊˈɹɛs/ · frequency rank #28,178*
Harsh treatment.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/depress-vs-duress