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 spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set deserve and deserved apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
deserve and deserved form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “deserve” sits inside “deserved” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. 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.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "deserve" and "deserved" be used interchangeably?
Remembering deserve vs deserved
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “deserve”; for an adjective, it's “deserved”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “deserve” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable