Which to use
“approximation” and “approximations” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,851
- “approximation” frequency rank
- #30,468
- “approximations” frequency rank
- 52319
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | approximation | approximations |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Estimation par à peu près, où l’on se contente d’approcher de la vérité sans s’attacher à une exactitude rigoureuse. | Pluriel de approximation. |
Same sound, different letters: approximation vs approximations
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 13 letters.
Ear matches; page differs - approximation and approximations
This is the hard kind. approximation and approximations are pronounced identically (\a.pʁɔk.si.ma.sjɔ̃\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “approximation” sits inside “approximations”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52319, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
approximation is recorded at frequency rank #21,851, classified as anoun, pronounced \a.pʁɔk.si.ma.sjɔ̃\. approximations is at rank #30,468, tagged as anoun, pronounced \a.pʁɔk.si.ma.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 52319, this pair ranks #148,534 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of approximation vs approximations
Shared letters: aimnoprtx. Private to "approximation": -. Private to "approximations": s.
"approximation" · 13 letters · shape VCCCVCVCVCVVC · "approximations" · 14 letters · shape VCCCVCVCVCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- approximation ← apporximation · approixmation · approxiamtion · approximaiton · approximatino · approximationn · approximatoin · approximattion
- approximations ← apporximations · approixmations · approxiamtions · approximaitons · approximatinos · approximationns · approximationss · approximatiosn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "approximation" and "approximations" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "approximation" or "approximations"?
What to do next
"approximation" and "approximations" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "approximation" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "approximations" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #148,534 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "approximation" and "approximations" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "approximations vs approximatives". 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 #148,534 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.