Which to use
“défait” is an adjective and “dégât” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,757
- “défait” frequency rank
- #24,555
- “dégât” frequency rank
- 36312
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défait | dégât |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui est dénoué, déconstruit, mis dans un état inconvenable, désordonné. | Dommage, détérioration amenés par un accident ou une cause violente. |
Where the eye mixes défait and dégât
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. défait runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against dégât's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between défait and dégât
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: défait is \de.fɛ\ while dégât is \de.ɡa\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36312, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défait is recorded at frequency rank #11,757, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.fɛ\. dégât is at rank #24,555, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.ɡa\.
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 36312, this pair ranks #270,484 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défait vs dégât
Shared letters: dté. Private to "défait": afi. Private to "dégât": gâ.
"défait" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "dégât" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "défait" and "dégât" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "défait" or "dégât" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "défait" and "dégât" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "défait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dégât" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #270,484 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défait" and "dégât" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dégât vs DGA". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #270,484 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.