Which to use
“défie” and “délier” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,118
- “défie” frequency rank
- #44,997
- “délier” frequency rank
- 62115
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défie | délier |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de défier. | Dégager de ce qui lie. |
Where the eye mixes défie and délier
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. défie runs 5 letters (CVCVV) against délier's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: défie vs délier
A purely visual mix-up. défie (\de.fi\) and délier (\de.lje\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62115, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défie is recorded at frequency rank #17,118, classified as averb, pronounced \de.fi\. délier is at rank #44,997, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.lje\.
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 62115, this pair ranks #88,751 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of défie vs délier
Shared letters: deié. Private to "défie": f. Private to "délier": lr.
"défie" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "délier" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "défie" for "délier" ever safe?
Which is more common, "défie" or "délier"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "défie" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "délier" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #88,751 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défie" and "délier" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "délier vs déviée". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #88,751 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.