Which to use
“defensa” is a noun and “defensiva” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #763
- “defensa” frequency rank
- #10,825
- “defensiva” frequency rank
- 11588
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | defensa | defensiva |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Acción o efecto de proteger algo contra una ofensiva o daño. | Forma del femenino de defensivo. |
Where the eye mixes defensa and defensiva
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. defensa runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against defensiva's 9 (CVCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: defensa vs defensiva
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: defensa is [d̪eˈfẽnsa] while defensiva is [d̪efẽnˈsiβ̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11588, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
defensa is recorded at frequency rank #763, classified as anoun, pronounced [d̪eˈfẽnsa]. defensiva is at rank #10,825, tagged as anadj, pronounced [d̪efẽnˈsiβ̞a].
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 11588, this pair ranks #294,575 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of defensa vs defensiva
Shared letters: adefns. Private to "defensa": -. Private to "defensiva": iv.
"defensa" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "defensiva" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "defensa" and "defensiva" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "defensa" vs "defensiva" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "defensa" and "defensiva" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "defensa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "defensiva" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #294,575 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "defensa" and "defensiva" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "defensa vs déjense". 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 #294,575 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.