Which to use
“desgastar” and “devastar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,754
- “desgastar” frequency rank
- #47,300
- “devastar” frequency rank
- 85054
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | desgastar | devastar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | destruir pouco a pouco | arruinar, assolar |
Where the eye mixes desgastar and devastar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses desgastar with devastar
A purely visual mix-up. desgastar (/deʒ.gaʃ.ˈtax/, /deʒ.gaʃ.ˈta/) and devastar (/dɨ.vɐʃ.ˈtaɾ/) 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 85054, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
desgastar is recorded at frequency rank #37,754, classified as averb, pronounced /deʒ.gaʃ.ˈtax/, /deʒ.gaʃ.ˈta/. devastar is at rank #47,300, tagged as averb, pronounced /dɨ.vɐʃ.ˈtaɾ/.
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 85054, this pair ranks #726 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of desgastar vs devastar
Shared letters: aderst. Private to "desgastar": g. Private to "devastar": v.
"desgastar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "devastar" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "desgastar" for "devastar" ever safe?
Frequency check: "desgastar" vs "devastar" - 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 "desgastar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "devastar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #726 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "desgastar" and "devastar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "degustar vs devastar". 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 #726 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.