Which to use
“deprive” and “derive” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,642
- “deprive” frequency rank
- #14,737
- “derive” frequency rank
- 37379
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | deprive | derive |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Used with “of”, to take something away from (someone) and keep it away; to deny someone something. | To obtain or receive (something) from something else. |
Where the eye mixes deprive and derive
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between deprive and derive
A purely visual mix-up. deprive (/dɪˈpɹaɪv/) and derive (/dɪˈɹaɪv/) 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 37379, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
deprive is recorded at frequency rank #22,642, classified as averb, pronounced /dɪˈpɹaɪv/. derive is at rank #14,737, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɪˈɹaɪv/.
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 37379, this pair ranks #295,071 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of deprive vs derive
Shared letters: deirv. Private to "deprive": p. Private to "derive": -.
"deprive" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "derive" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "deprive" and "derive" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "deprive" vs "derive" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "deprive" and "derive" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "deprive" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "derive" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #295,071 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "deprive" and "derive" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "defile vs derive". 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 #295,071 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.