défense vs démence, What's the Difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set défense and démence apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

défense

7 ch

démence

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

Frequency comparison

défense#897

démence#18,183

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "défense" and "démence" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (\de.fɑ̃s\ versus \de.mɑ̃s\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "défense" or "démence"?

"défense" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #897 in our French list, against #18,183 for "démence". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering défense vs démence

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “défense” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable