cautionvscautionsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“caution” and “cautions” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#6,794
“caution” frequency rank
#44,926
“cautions” frequency rank
51720
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caution cautions
Definition Garantie, assurance d’un engagement pris. → voir caution bourgeoise Pluriel de caution.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set caution and cautions apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
caution
8 ch
cautions

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

caution and cautions form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “caution” sits inside “cautions” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51720, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caution is recorded at frequency rank #6,794, classified as anoun, pronounced \ko.sjɔ̃\. cautions is at rank #44,926, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ko.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 51720, this pair ranks #152,942 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

caution#6,794
cautions#44,926

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caution" and "cautions" be used interchangeably?
No, "caution" and "cautions" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering caution vs cautions

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “caution” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list