Which to use
“défaut” is a noun and “Devaux” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,950
- “défaut” frequency rank
- #49,019
- “Devaux” frequency rank
- 50969
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défaut | Devaux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Imperfection physique. | Nom de famille |
Where the eye mixes défaut and Devaux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: défaut vs Devaux
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: défaut is \de.fo\ while Devaux is \de.vo\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50969, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défaut is recorded at frequency rank #1,950, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.fo\. Devaux is at rank #49,019, tagged as aname, pronounced \de.vo\.
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 50969, this pair ranks #158,572 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défaut vs Devaux
Shared letters: adu. Private to "défaut": fté. Private to "Devaux": evx.
"défaut" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "Devaux" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Devaux ← ddevaux · deavux · devauxx · devaxu · devuax · devvaux · dveaux · edvaux
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "défaut" and "Devaux" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "défaut" or "Devaux"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "défaut" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Devaux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #158,572 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défaut" and "Devaux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Delvaux vs Devaux". 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 #158,572 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.