Which to use
“devoted” is a verb and “devotee” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,318
- “devoted” frequency rank
- #31,509
- “devotee” frequency rank
- 36827
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | devoted | devotee |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of devote | An ardent enthusiast or admirer. |
Where the eye mixes devoted and devotee
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses devoted with devotee
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: devoted is /dɪˈvəʊtəd/ while devotee is /ˌdɛv.əˈtiː/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “devoted” becomes e in “devotee”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36827, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
devoted is recorded at frequency rank #5,318, classified as averb, pronounced /dɪˈvəʊtəd/. devotee is at rank #31,509, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˌdɛv.əˈtiː/.
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 36827, this pair ranks #299,830 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of devoted vs devotee
Shared letters: deotv. Private to "devoted": -. Private to "devotee": -.
"devoted" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "devotee" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "devoted" for "devotee" ever safe?
Which is more common, "devoted" or "devotee"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "devoted" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "devotee" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #299,830 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "devoted" and "devotee" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "devolve vs devotee". 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 #299,830 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.