Which to use
“défense” and “démence” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #897
- “défense” frequency rank
- #18,183
- “démence” frequency rank
- 19080
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défense | démence |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Action de défendre, de se défendre. | Aliénation mentale chronique, acquise et évolutive, dont l'étiologie est diverse. |
Where the eye mixes défense and démence
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. défense and démence follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses défense with démence
A purely visual mix-up. défense (\de.fɑ̃s\) and démence (\de.mɑ̃s\) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19080, 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\. démence is at rank #18,183, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.mɑ̃s\.
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 19080, this pair ranks #375,125 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of défense vs démence
Shared letters: dené. Private to "défense": fs. Private to "démence": cm.
"défense" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "démence" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "défense" for "démence" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "défense" or "démence" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "défense" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "démence" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #375,125 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défense" and "démence" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "démange vs démence". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #375,125 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.