Which to use
“desmaiado” and “destacado” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,984
- “desmaiado” frequency rank
- #10,170
- “destacado” frequency rank
- 51154
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | desmaiado | destacado |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | que desmaiou | que se destacou |
Where the eye mixes desmaiado and destacado
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. desmaiado (CVCCVVVCV) and destacado (CVCCVCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses desmaiado with destacado
A purely visual mix-up. desmaiado (/dɨʒ.maj.ˈa.du/) and destacado (/dɨʃ.tɐ.ˈka.du/) 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 51154, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
desmaiado is recorded at frequency rank #40,984, classified as anadj, pronounced /dɨʒ.maj.ˈa.du/. destacado is at rank #10,170, tagged as anadj, pronounced /dɨʃ.tɐ.ˈka.du/.
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 51154, this pair ranks #13,838 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of desmaiado vs destacado
Shared letters: adeos. Private to "desmaiado": im. Private to "destacado": ct.
"desmaiado" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVVCV · "destacado" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "desmaiado" for "destacado" ever safe?
Frequency check: "desmaiado" vs "destacado" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "desmaiado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "destacado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #13,838 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "desmaiado" and "destacado" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "descarado vs desmaiado". 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 #13,838 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.