Which to use
“disease” is a noun and “diseased” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,331
- “disease” frequency rank
- #25,037
- “diseased” frequency rank
- 26368
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | disease | diseased |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An abnormal condition of a human, animal or plant that causes discomfort or dysfunction; distinct from injury insofar as the latter is usually instantaneously acquired. | Affected with or suffering from disease. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set disease and diseased apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: disease is /dɪˈziːz/ while diseased is /dɪˈziːzd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “disease” sits inside “diseased”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26368, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
disease is recorded at frequency rank #1,331, classified as anoun, pronounced /dɪˈziːz/. diseased is at rank #25,037, tagged as anadj, pronounced /dɪˈziːzd/.
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 26368, this pair ranks #387,231 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of disease vs diseased
Shared letters: adeis. Private to "disease": -. Private to "diseased": -.
"disease" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV · "diseased" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "disease" and "diseased" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "disease" or "diseased"?
Remembering disease vs diseased
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “disease”; for an adjective, it's “diseased”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “disease” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable