Which to use
“demente” is an adjective and “desmiente” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,508
- “demente” frequency rank
- #29,156
- “desmiente” frequency rank
- 47664
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | demente | desmiente |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Loco o falto de juicio. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de desmentir. |
Where the eye mixes demente and desmiente
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. demente runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against desmiente's 9 (CVCCVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: demente vs desmiente
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: demente is [d̪eˈmẽn̪t̪e] while desmiente is [d̪esˈmjẽn̪t̪e]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47664, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
demente is recorded at frequency rank #18,508, classified as anadj, pronounced [d̪eˈmẽn̪t̪e]. desmiente is at rank #29,156, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪esˈmjẽn̪t̪e].
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 47664, this pair ranks #118,760 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of demente vs desmiente
Shared letters: demnt. Private to "demente": -. Private to "desmiente": is.
"demente" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "desmiente" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "demente" for "desmiente" ever safe?
Which is more common, "demente" or "desmiente"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "demente" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "desmiente" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #118,760 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "demente" and "desmiente" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déjense vs demente". 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 #118,760 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.