Which to use
“devoid” is an adjective and “devoted” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,688
- “devoid” frequency rank
- #5,318
- “devoted” frequency rank
- 22006
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | devoid | devoted |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Completely without; having none of. | simple past and past participle of devote |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set devoid and devoted apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
devoid and devoted form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22006, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
devoid is recorded at frequency rank #16,688, classified as anadj, pronounced /dɪˈvɔɪd/. devoted is at rank #5,318, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɪˈvəʊtəd/.
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 22006, this pair ranks #419,757 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "devoid" and "devoted" be used interchangeably?
Remembering devoid vs devoted
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “devoid”; for a verb, it's “devoted”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “devoid” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable