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devise

de·vise/dɪˈvaɪz/verb, noun

devise is spelled D-E-V-I-S-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables (de·vise). It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “device vs devise” about 480 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, devise means “To use one’s intellect to plan or design (something)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in devise?

Letters6: D-E-V-I-S-E
Syllables2: de·vise
In writing1.5 times per million words; the 22,651st most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).

How common is devise?

Devise appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce devise?

  • /dɪˈvaɪz/

Devise has 2 syllables, split de·vise in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-devise.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with devise

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

device vs devise480 G

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of devise

  • devises present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • devising participle, present
  • devised participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does devise mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To use one’s intellect to plan or design (something).

    Near-synonyms: lay, set, design, plan, create

  2. 2

    To leave (property) in a will.

  3. 3

    archaicTo form a scheme; to lay a plan; to contrive; to consider.

  4. 4

    archaicTo plan or scheme for; to plot to obtain.

  5. 5

    obsoleteTo imagine; to guess.

noun

  1. 1

    The act of leaving real property in a will.

  2. 2

    Such a will, or a clause in such a will.

  3. 3

    The real property left in such a will.

  4. 4

    Design, devising.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Devise in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchconcevoir, élaborer (use the intellect to plan or design)
Germanausdenken, entwerfen, erdenken, planen (use the intellect to plan or design), letztwillig vermachen, durch Testament verfügen (leave in a will)
Portugueseinventar, tramar, delinear, projetar, idear (use the intellect to plan or design), legar (leave in a will)
Spanishidear, discurrir, ingeniar, elucubrar, discursar (use the intellect to plan or design), tramar (to scheme, to plot)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does devise come from?

From Middle English devisen, devysen, from Old French deviser, from Vulgar Latin devisō, from Latin dīvisō, frequentative of dīvidō.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after devise