Which to use
“défenses” is a noun and “dépensée” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,569
- “défenses” frequency rank
- #43,400
- “dépensée” frequency rank
- 54969
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défenses | dépensée |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de défense. | Participe passé féminin singulier de dépenser. |
Where the eye mixes défenses and dépensée
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. défenses (CVCVCCVC) and dépensée (CVCVCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses défenses with dépensée
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: défenses is \de.fɑ̃s\ while dépensée is \de.pɑ̃.se\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54969, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défenses is recorded at frequency rank #11,569, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.fɑ̃s\. dépensée is at rank #43,400, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.pɑ̃.se\.
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 54969, this pair ranks #130,465 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défenses vs dépensée
Shared letters: densé. Private to "défenses": f. Private to "dépensée": p.
"défenses" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "dépensée" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "défenses" for "dépensée" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "défenses" or "dépensée" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "défenses" and "dépensée" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "défenses" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dépensée" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #130,465 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défenses" and "dépensée" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dépensée vs dispensée". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #130,465 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.