Which to use
“detach” and “detain” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,238
- “detach” frequency rank
- #22,056
- “detain” frequency rank
- 51294
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | detach | detain |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To take apart from; to take off. | To keep something from proceeding or coming to completion; to delay. |
Where the eye mixes detach and detain
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. detach (CVCVCC) and detain (CVCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses detach with detain
A purely visual mix-up. detach (/dɪˈtæt͡ʃ/) and detain (/dɪˈteɪn/) 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 51294, 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/. detain is at rank #22,056, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɪˈteɪn/.
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 51294, this pair ranks #166,712 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of detach vs detain
Shared letters: adet. Private to "detach": ch. Private to "detain": in.
"detach" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "detain" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "detach" and "detain" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "detach" vs "detain" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "detach" and "detain" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "detach" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "detain" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #166,712 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "detach" and "detain" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Deakin vs detain". 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 #166,712 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.