Which to use
“défense” is a noun and “déféré” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #897
- “défense” frequency rank
- #37,775
- “déféré” frequency rank
- 38672
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défense | déféré |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Action de défendre, de se défendre. | Participe passé masculin singulier de déférer. |
Where the eye mixes défense and déféré
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. défense runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against déféré's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: défense vs déféré
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: défense is \de.fɑ̃s\ while déféré is \de.fe.ʁe\. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38672, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défense is recorded at frequency rank #897, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.fɑ̃s\. déféré is at rank #37,775, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.fe.ʁe\.
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 38672, this pair ranks #253,630 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défense vs déféré
Shared letters: dfé. Private to "défense": ens. Private to "déféré": r.
"défense" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "déféré" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "défense" and "déféré" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "défense" vs "déféré" - 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 "défense" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "déféré" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #253,630 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défense" and "déféré" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décèle vs déféré". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #253,630 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.