Which to use
“declinar” and “delirar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,656
- “declinar” frequency rank
- #37,744
- “delirar” frequency rank
- 76400
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | declinar | delirar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eximir-se a, desistir de, recusar (convites, encargos, etc.) | estar em delírio |
Where the eye mixes declinar and delirar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. declinar runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against delirar's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: declinar vs delirar
A purely visual mix-up. declinar (/dɨ.kli.ˈnaɾ/) and delirar (/dɨ.li.ˈɾaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76400, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
declinar is recorded at frequency rank #38,656, classified as averb, pronounced /dɨ.kli.ˈnaɾ/. delirar is at rank #37,744, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɨ.li.ˈɾaɾ/.
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 76400, this pair ranks #2,100 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of declinar vs delirar
Shared letters: adeilr. Private to "declinar": cn. Private to "delirar": -.
"declinar" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "delirar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "declinar" and "delirar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "declinar" vs "delirar" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "declinar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "delirar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,100 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "declinar" and "delirar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "delegar vs delirar". 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 #2,100 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.