Which to use
“demora” is a noun and “devorar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,640
- “demora” frequency rank
- #37,550
- “devorar” frequency rank
- 46190
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | demora | devorar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tiempo que pasa sin que un evento ocurra, a partir del momento en que debería haber ocurrido. Acción de demorar o demorarse. | Referido a un animal, comerse a su presa (otro animal que ha cazado o pescado). |
Where the eye mixes demora and devorar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between demora and devorar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: demora is [d̪eˈmoɾa] while devorar is [d̪eβ̞oˈɾaɾ]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46190, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
demora is recorded at frequency rank #8,640, classified as anoun, pronounced [d̪eˈmoɾa]. devorar is at rank #37,550, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eβ̞oˈɾaɾ].
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 46190, this pair ranks #127,168 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of demora vs devorar
Shared letters: adeor. Private to "demora": m. Private to "devorar": v.
"demora" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "devorar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "demora" and "devorar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "demora" or "devorar"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "demora" and "devorar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "demora" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "devorar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #127,168 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "demora" and "devorar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "develar vs devorar". 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 #127,168 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.