decentevsdeleteConfusable pair

Quick tell: decente is a adjective, delete is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“decente” is an adjective and “delete” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,621
“decente” frequency rank
#33,777
“delete” frequency rank
41398
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature decente delete
Definition que age com decência excluir

Where the eye mixes decente and delete

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
decente
6 ch
delete

Look-alike desk: decente vs delete

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: decente is /dɨ.ˈsẽ.tɨ/ while delete is /dɪ.ˈliːt/. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41398, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

decente is recorded at frequency rank #7,621, classified as anadj, pronounced /dɨ.ˈsẽ.tɨ/. delete is at rank #33,777, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɪ.ˈliːt/.

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 41398, this pair ranks #24,526 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of decente vs delete

Shared letters: det. Private to "decente": cn. Private to "delete": l.

"decente" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "delete" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • decentedceente · ddecente · deccente · decenet · decennte · decentte · decetne · decnete
  • deleteddelete · deelte · deleet · delette · dellete · deltee · dleete · edlete

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "decente" and "delete" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "decente" is an adjective and "delete" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "decente" vs "delete" - which ranks higher?
"decente" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,621 in our Portuguese list, against #33,777 for "delete". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "decente" and "delete" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "decente" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "delete" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #24,526 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "decente" and "delete" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "delete 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 #24,526 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list