Which to use
“disable” is a verb and “durable” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,513
- “disable” frequency rank
- #11,536
- “durable” frequency rank
- 26049
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | disable | durable |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To render unable; to take away an ability of, as by crippling. | Able to resist wear or decay; lasting; enduring. |
Where the eye mixes disable and durable
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses disable with durable
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: disable is /dɪsˈeɪbəl/ while durable is /ˈdʊɹəbəl/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26049, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
disable is recorded at frequency rank #14,513, classified as averb, pronounced /dɪsˈeɪbəl/. durable is at rank #11,536, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈdʊɹəbəl/.
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 26049, this pair ranks #389,604 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of disable vs durable
Shared letters: abdel. Private to "disable": is. Private to "durable": ru.
"disable" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "durable" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "disable" and "durable" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "disable" vs "durable" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "disable" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "durable" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #389,604 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "disable" and "durable" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "disable vs doable". 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 #389,604 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.