défectionsvsdéjectionsTell them apart

Which to use

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

#40,224
“défections” frequency rank
#38,766
“déjections” frequency rank
78990
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature défections déjections
Definition Pluriel de défection. Pluriel de déjection.

Where the eye mixes défections and déjections

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. défections and déjections follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

10 ch
défections
10 ch
déjections

Look-alike desk: défections vs déjections

A purely visual mix-up. défections (\de.fɛk.sjɔ̃\) and déjections (\de.ʒɛk.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 a single letter - f in “défections” becomes j in “déjections”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78990, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

défections is recorded at frequency rank #40,224, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.fɛk.sjɔ̃\. déjections is at rank #38,766, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.ʒɛk.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 78990, this pair ranks #24,336 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of défections vs déjections

Shared letters: cdeinosté. Private to "défections": f. Private to "déjections": j.

"défections" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVVCC  ·  "déjections" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "défections" and "déjections" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\de.fɛk.sjɔ̃\ versus \de.ʒɛk.sjɔ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary French text, does "défections" or "déjections" show up more?
"déjections" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,766 in our French list, against #40,224 for "défections". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "défections" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "déjections" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #24,336 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "défections" and "déjections" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déductions vs défections". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #24,336 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list