Which to use
“défier” and “délirer” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,556
- “défier” frequency rank
- #36,817
- “délirer” frequency rank
- 49373
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défier | délirer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Provoquer à une lutte, au duel. | Avoir le délire ; être en délire. |
Where the eye mixes défier and délirer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. défier runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against délirer's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: défier vs délirer
A purely visual mix-up. défier (\de.fje\) and délirer (\de.li.ʁe\) 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 49373, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défier is recorded at frequency rank #12,556, classified as averb, pronounced \de.fje\. délirer is at rank #36,817, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.li.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 49373, this pair ranks #171,225 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défier vs délirer
Shared letters: deiré. Private to "défier": f. Private to "délirer": l.
"défier" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "délirer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "défier" and "délirer" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "défier" or "délirer" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "défier" and "délirer" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "défier" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "délirer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #171,225 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défier" and "délirer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "délier vs délirer". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #171,225 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.