Which to use
“delirar” and “demorar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,744
- “delirar” frequency rank
- #4,057
- “demorar” frequency rank
- 41801
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | delirar | demorar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | estar em delírio | levar muito tempo ou mais tempo que o normal ou o limite |
Where the eye mixes delirar and demorar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. delirar and demorar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between delirar and demorar
A purely visual mix-up. delirar (/dɨ.li.ˈɾaɾ/) and demorar (/dɨ.mu.ˈɾaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41801, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
delirar is recorded at frequency rank #37,744, classified as averb, pronounced /dɨ.li.ˈɾaɾ/. demorar is at rank #4,057, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɨ.mu.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 41801, this pair ranks #24,076 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of delirar vs demorar
Shared letters: ader. Private to "delirar": il. Private to "demorar": mo.
"delirar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "demorar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "delirar" and "demorar" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "delirar" or "demorar"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "delirar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "demorar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #24,076 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "delirar" and "demorar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "declinar 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 #24,076 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.