Which to use
“detail” is a noun and “detailed” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,621
- “detail” frequency rank
- #2,942
- “detailed” frequency rank
- 5563
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | detail | detailed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A part small enough to escape casual notice. | Characterized by attention to detail and thoroughness of treatment. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set detail and detailed apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
detail and detailed 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 2 extra letter(s) - “detail” sits inside “detailed” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5563, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
detail is recorded at frequency rank #2,621, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈdiː.teɪl/. detailed is at rank #2,942, tagged as anadj, pronounced /dɪˈteɪld/.
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 5563, this pair ranks #514,848 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "detail" and "detailed" be used interchangeably?
Remembering detail vs detailed
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “detail”; for an adjective, it's “detailed”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “detail” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable