Which to use
“devise” and “devised” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,645
- “devise” frequency rank
- #13,132
- “devised” frequency rank
- 35777
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | devise | devised |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To use one’s intellect to plan or design (something). | simple past and past participle of devise |
Where the eye mixes devise and devised
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses devise with devised
A purely visual mix-up. devise (/dɪˈvaɪz/) and devised (/dɪˈvaɪzd/) 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) - “devise” sits inside “devised”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35777, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
devise is recorded at frequency rank #22,645, classified as averb, pronounced /dɪˈvaɪz/. devised is at rank #13,132, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɪˈvaɪzd/.
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 35777, this pair ranks #309,023 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of devise vs devised
Shared letters: deisv. Private to "devise": -. Private to "devised": -.
"devise" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "devised" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "devise" and "devised" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "devise" vs "devised" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "devise" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "devised" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #309,023 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "devise" and "devised" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "devise vs Devito". 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 #309,023 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.