Which to use
“abstentions” and “attentions” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,040
- “abstentions” frequency rank
- #18,398
- “attentions” frequency rank
- 48438
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abstentions | attentions |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de abstention. | Pluriel de attention. |
Where the eye mixes abstentions and attentions
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. abstentions runs 11 letters (VCCCVCCVVCC) against attentions's 10 (VCCVCCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: abstentions vs attentions
A purely visual mix-up. abstentions (\ap.stɑ̃.sjɔ̃\) and attentions (\a.tɑ̃.sjɔ̃\) 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 48438, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abstentions is recorded at frequency rank #30,040, classified as anoun, pronounced \ap.stɑ̃.sjɔ̃\. attentions is at rank #18,398, tagged as anoun, pronounced \a.tɑ̃.sjɔ̃\.
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 48438, this pair ranks #178,941 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abstentions vs attentions
Shared letters: aeinost. Private to "abstentions": b. Private to "attentions": -.
"abstentions" · 11 letters · shape VCCCVCCVVCC · "attentions" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abstentions ← abbstentions · absetntions · absstentions · abstenitons · abstenntions · abstentinos · abstentionns · abstentionss
- attentions ← atentions · atetntions · attenitons · attenntions · attentinos · attentionns · attentionss · attentiosn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abstentions" for "attentions" ever safe?
Which is more common, "abstentions" or "attentions"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "abstentions" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "attentions" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #178,941 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abstentions" and "attentions" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "attendions vs attentions". 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 #178,941 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.