Which to use
“défend” and “defender” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,750
- “défend” frequency rank
- #44,412
- “defender” frequency rank
- 48162
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défend | defender |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de défendre. | Défendre. |
Where the eye mixes défend and defender
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between défend and defender
A purely visual mix-up. défend (\de.fɑ̃\) and defender (\de.fenˈdeɾ\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48162, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défend is recorded at frequency rank #3,750, classified as averb, pronounced \de.fɑ̃\. defender is at rank #44,412, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.fenˈdeɾ\.
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 48162, this pair ranks #181,142 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défend vs defender
Shared letters: defn. Private to "défend": é. Private to "defender": r.
"défend" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "defender" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- defender ← ddefender · deefnder · defedner · defendder · defenderr · defenedr · defennder · deffender
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "défend" for "defender" ever safe?
Frequency check: "défend" vs "defender" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "défend" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "defender" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #181,142 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défend" and "defender" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "defender vs défendit". 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 #181,142 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.