Which to use
“devise” and “divide” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,645
- “devise” frequency rank
- #5,876
- “divide” frequency rank
- 28521
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | devise | divide |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To use one’s intellect to plan or design (something). | To split or separate (something) into two or more parts. |
Where the eye mixes devise and divide
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: devise vs divide
A purely visual mix-up. devise (/dɪˈvaɪz/) and divide (/dɪˈvaɪd/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28521, 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/. divide is at rank #5,876, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɪˈvaɪd/.
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 28521, this pair ranks #370,402 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of devise vs divide
Shared letters: deiv. Private to "devise": s. Private to "divide": -.
"devise" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "divide" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "devise" and "divide" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "devise" vs "divide" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "devise" and "divide" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "devise" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "divide" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #370,402 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "devise" and "divide" 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 #370,402 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.