Which to use
“défier” is a verb and “demies” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,556
- “défier” frequency rank
- #42,819
- “demies” frequency rank
- 55375
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défier | demies |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Provoquer à une lutte, au duel. | Féminin pluriel de demi. |
Where the eye mixes défier and demies
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between défier and demies
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: défier is \de.fje\ while demies is \də.mi\. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55375, 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\. demies is at rank #42,819, tagged as anadj, pronounced \də.mi\.
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 55375, this pair ranks #127,850 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défier vs demies
Shared letters: dei. Private to "défier": fré. Private to "demies": ms.
"défier" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "demies" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- demies ← ddemies · deimes · demeis · demiess · demise · demmies · dmeies · edmies
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "défier" and "demies" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "défier" or "demies" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "défier" and "demies" 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 "demies" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #127,850 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défier" and "demies" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "demies vs devins". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #127,850 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.