# deserving vs desiring

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### deserving
*adjective · IPA /dɪˈzɝvɪŋ/ · frequency rank #13,497*
Worthy of reward or praise; meritorious.

### desiring
*verb · IPA /dɪˈzaɪ(ə)ɹɪŋ/ · frequency rank #32,349*
present participle and gerund of desire

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deserving-vs-desiring