Which to use
“determine” and “determines” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,338
- “determine” frequency rank
- #10,035
- “determines” frequency rank
- 12373
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | determine | determines |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To set the boundaries or limits of. | third-person singular simple present indicative of determine |
Where the eye mixes determine and determines
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: determine vs determines
A purely visual mix-up. determine (/dɪˈtɜː(ɹ).mɪn/) and determines (/dɪˈtɝmɪnz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “determine” sits inside “determines”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12373, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
determine is recorded at frequency rank #2,338, classified as averb, pronounced /dɪˈtɜː(ɹ).mɪn/. determines is at rank #10,035, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɪˈtɝmɪnz/.
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 12373, this pair ranks #481,939 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of determine vs determines
Shared letters: deimnrt. Private to "determine": -. Private to "determines": s.
"determine" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV · "determines" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- determine ← ddetermine · deetrmine · detemrine · deterimne · determien · determinne · determmine · determnie
- determines ← ddetermines · deetrmines · detemrines · deterimnes · determiens · determiness · determinnes · determinse
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "determine" and "determines" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "determine" or "determines"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "determine" and "determines" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "determine" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "determines" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #481,939 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "determine" and "determines" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "determines vs determinism". 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 #481,939 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.