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 eye mixes detail and detailed
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. detail runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against detailed's 8 (CVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses detail with detailed
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: detail is /ˈdiː.teɪl/ while detailed is /dɪˈteɪld/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “detail” sits inside “detailed”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. 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.
Orthographic DNA of detail vs detailed
Shared letters: adeilt. Private to "detail": -. Private to "detailed": -.
"detail" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "detailed" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "detail" and "detailed" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "detail" or "detailed" show up more?
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 "detail" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "detailed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #514,848 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "detail" and "detailed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "DePaul vs detail". 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 #514,848 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.