Which to use
“deserve” is a verb and “deserved” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,529
- “deserve” frequency rank
- #5,673
- “deserved” frequency rank
- 8202
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | deserve | deserved |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To be entitled to, as a result of past actions; to be worthy to have. | fair; merited. |
Where the eye mixes deserve and deserved
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. deserve runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against deserved's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: deserve vs deserved
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: deserve is /dɪˈzɜːv/ while deserved is /dɪˈzɜːvd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “deserve” sits inside “deserved”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8202, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
deserve is recorded at frequency rank #2,529, classified as averb, pronounced /dɪˈzɜːv/. deserved is at rank #5,673, tagged as anadj, pronounced /dɪˈzɜːvd/.
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 8202, this pair ranks #503,690 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of deserve vs deserved
Shared letters: dersv. Private to "deserve": -. Private to "deserved": -.
"deserve" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "deserved" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "deserve" for "deserved" ever safe?
Which is more common, "deserve" or "deserved"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "deserve" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "deserved" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #503,690 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "deserve" and "deserved" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deserter vs deserved". 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 #503,690 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.