Which to use
“derision” and “division” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,955
- “derision” frequency rank
- #1,451
- “division” frequency rank
- 38406
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | derision | division |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Act of treating with disdain. | The act or process of dividing anything. |
Where the eye mixes derision and division
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: derision vs division
A purely visual mix-up. derision (/dɪˈɹɪʒən/) and division (/dɪˈvɪʒn̩/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38406, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
derision is recorded at frequency rank #36,955, classified as anoun, pronounced /dɪˈɹɪʒən/. division is at rank #1,451, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɪˈvɪʒn̩/.
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 38406, this pair ranks #286,182 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of derision vs division
Shared letters: dinos. Private to "derision": er. Private to "division": v.
"derision" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC · "division" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "derision" and "division" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "derision" vs "division" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "derision" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "division" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #286,182 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "derision" and "division" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Denison vs derision". 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 #286,182 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.