Which to use
“diverge” is a verb and “divers” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,692
- “diverge” frequency rank
- #12,407
- “divers” frequency rank
- 48099
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | diverge | divers |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To run apart; to separate; to tend into different directions. | plural of diver |
Where the eye mixes diverge and divers
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. diverge runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against divers's 6 (CVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: diverge vs divers
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: diverge is /daɪˈvɜːd͡ʒ/ while divers is /ˈdaɪvə(ɹ)z/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48099, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
diverge is recorded at frequency rank #35,692, classified as averb, pronounced /daɪˈvɜːd͡ʒ/. divers is at rank #12,407, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈdaɪvə(ɹ)z/.
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 48099, this pair ranks #196,281 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of diverge vs divers
Shared letters: deirv. Private to "diverge": g. Private to "divers": s.
"diverge" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "divers" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "diverge" and "divers" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "diverge" vs "divers" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "diverge" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "divers" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #196,281 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "diverge" and "divers" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "diverge vs divulge". 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 #196,281 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.