confidencevsconnivenceWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#23,809
“confidence” frequency rank
#24,918
“connivence” frequency rank
48727
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature confidence connivence
Definition Communication d’un secret. Complicité par tolérance et dissimulation d’un mal qu’on doit ou qu’on peut empêcher.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set confidence and connivence apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
confidence
10 ch
connivence

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. confidence (\kɔ̃.fi.dɑ̃s\) and connivence (\kɔ.ni.vɑ̃s\) 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 48727, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

confidence is recorded at frequency rank #23,809, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.fi.dɑ̃s\. connivence is at rank #24,918, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ.ni.vɑ̃s\.

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 48727, this pair ranks #176,506 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of confidence vs connivence

Shared letters: ceino. Private to "confidence": df. Private to "connivence": v.

"confidence" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCV  ·  "connivence" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • confidencecconfidence · cnofidence · cofnidence · confdience · conffidence · confiddence · confidecne · confidencce
  • connivencecconnivence · cnonivence · coninvence · conivence · connievnce · connivecne · connivencce · connivenec

Frequency comparison

confidence#23,809
connivence#24,918

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "confidence" and "connivence" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kɔ̃.fi.dɑ̃s\ versus \kɔ.ni.vɑ̃s\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "confidence" or "connivence"?
"confidence" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,809 in our French list, against #24,918 for "connivence". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering confidence vs connivence

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 “confidence” 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