Which to use
“defender” and “défendre” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,412
- “defender” frequency rank
- #1,660
- “défendre” frequency rank
- 46072
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | defender | défendre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Défendre. | Protéger, soutenir, quelqu'un ou quelque chose contre une attaque, une agression. |
Where the eye mixes defender and défendre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. defender (CVCVCCVC) and défendre (CVCVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses defender with défendre
A purely visual mix-up. defender (\de.fenˈdeɾ\) and défendre (\de.fɑ̃dʁ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46072, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
defender is recorded at frequency rank #44,412, classified as averb, pronounced \de.fenˈdeɾ\. défendre is at rank #1,660, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.fɑ̃dʁ\.
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 46072, this pair ranks #197,825 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of defender vs défendre
Shared letters: defnr. Private to "defender": -. Private to "défendre": é.
"defender" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "défendre" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- defender ← ddefender · deefnder · defedner · defendder · defenderr · defenedr · defennder · deffender
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "defender" for "défendre" ever safe?
Frequency check: "defender" vs "défendre" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "defender" and "défendre" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "defender" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "défendre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #197,825 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "defender" and "défendre" 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 #197,825 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.