Which to use
“défendre” is a verb and “défendues” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,660
- “défendre” frequency rank
- #29,328
- “défendues” frequency rank
- 30988
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défendre | défendues |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Protéger, soutenir, quelqu'un ou quelque chose contre une attaque, une agression. | Féminin pluriel de défendu. |
Where the eye mixes défendre and défendues
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. défendre runs 8 letters (CVCVCCCV) against défendues's 9 (CVCVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses défendre with défendues
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: défendre is \de.fɑ̃dʁ\ while défendues is \de.fɑ̃.dy\. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30988, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défendre is recorded at frequency rank #1,660, classified as averb, pronounced \de.fɑ̃dʁ\. défendues is at rank #29,328, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.fɑ̃.dy\.
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 30988, this pair ranks #306,722 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défendre vs défendues
Shared letters: defné. Private to "défendre": r. Private to "défendues": su.
"défendre" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV · "défendues" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "défendre" and "défendues" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "défendre" or "défendues" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "défendre" and "défendues" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "défendre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "défendues" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #306,722 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défendre" and "défendues" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "défendues vs détendus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #306,722 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.