Which to use
“detach” is a verb and “detached” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,238
- “detach” frequency rank
- #9,733
- “detached” frequency rank
- 38971
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | detach | detached |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To take apart from; to take off. | Not physically attached; separated from something to which it could connect. |
Where the eye mixes detach and detached
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. detach runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against detached's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses detach with detached
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: detach is /dɪˈtæt͡ʃ/ while detached is /dɪˈtæt͡ʃt/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “detach” sits inside “detached”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38971, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
detach is recorded at frequency rank #29,238, classified as averb, pronounced /dɪˈtæt͡ʃ/. detached is at rank #9,733, tagged as anadj, pronounced /dɪˈtæt͡ʃt/.
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 38971, this pair ranks #281,004 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of detach vs detached
Shared letters: acdeht. Private to "detach": -. Private to "detached": -.
"detach" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "detached" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "detach" and "detached" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "detach" or "detached"?
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 "detach" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "detached" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #281,004 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "detach" and "detached" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "detach vs Deutsch". 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 #281,004 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.