Which to use
“devil” is a name and “devoid” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,296
- “devil” frequency rank
- #16,688
- “devoid” frequency rank
- 20984
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | devil | devoid |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The chief devil; Satan. | Completely without; having none of. |
Where the eye mixes devil and devoid
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses devil with devoid
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: devil is /ˈdɛvəl/ while devoid is /dɪˈvɔɪd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20984, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
devil is recorded at frequency rank #4,296, classified as aname, pronounced /ˈdɛvəl/. devoid is at rank #16,688, tagged as anadj, pronounced /dɪˈvɔɪd/.
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 20984, this pair ranks #427,250 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of devil vs devoid
Shared letters: deiv. Private to "devil": l. Private to "devoid": o.
"devil" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "devoid" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "devil" and "devoid" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "devil" or "devoid"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "devil" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "devoid" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #427,250 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "devil" and "devoid" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "devoid vs Devos". 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 #427,250 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.