Which to use
“derided” is an adjective and “divided” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,363
- “derided” frequency rank
- #3,160
- “divided” frequency rank
- 41523
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | derided | divided |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Disparaged; subject to criticism or mockery. | simple past and past participle of divide |
Letter map: derided vs divided
Shared letters muted; letters that set derided and divided apart highlighted. Shared run: 5.
Grammar separator: derided vs divided
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: derided is anadjective and dividedaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41523, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
derided is recorded at frequency rank #38,363, classified as anadj. divided is at rank #3,160, tagged as averb.
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 41523, this pair ranks #257,581 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of derided vs divided
Shared letters: dei. Private to "derided": r. Private to "divided": v.
"derided" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "divided" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "derided" and "divided" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "derided" or "divided" show up more?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "derided" and "divided".
- Full dictionary entry for "derided" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "divided" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #257,581 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "derided" and "divided" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "defiled vs derided". 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 #257,581 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.