Which to use
“contention” and “conventions” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,193
- “contention” frequency rank
- #7,548
- “conventions” frequency rank
- 48741
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contention | conventions |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Action de tendre fortement les facultés intellectuelles vers quelque chose. | Pluriel de convention. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set contention and conventions apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. contention (\kɔ̃.tɑ̃.sjɔ̃\) and conventions (\kɔ̃.vɑ̃.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 48741, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contention is recorded at frequency rank #41,193, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.tɑ̃.sjɔ̃\. conventions is at rank #7,548, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.vɑ̃.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 48741, this pair ranks #176,383 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of contention vs conventions
Shared letters: ceinot. Private to "contention": -. Private to "conventions": sv.
"contention" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVC · "conventions" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- contention ← ccontention · cnotention · conetntion · conntention · conteniton · contenntion · contentino · contentionn
- conventions ← cconventions · cnoventions · conevntions · connventions · convenitons · convenntions · conventinos · conventionns
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "contention" and "conventions" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "contention" or "conventions"?
Remembering contention vs conventions
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 “contention” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable