Which to use
“défier” and “deviez” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,556
- “défier” frequency rank
- #25,966
- “deviez” frequency rank
- 38522
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défier | deviez |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Provoquer à une lutte, au duel. | Deuxième personne du pluriel de l’imparfait de devoir. |
Where the eye mixes défier and deviez
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses défier with deviez
A purely visual mix-up. défier (\de.fje\) and deviez (\də.vje\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38522, 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\. deviez is at rank #25,966, tagged as averb, pronounced \də.vje\.
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 38522, this pair ranks #254,697 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défier vs deviez
Shared letters: dei. Private to "défier": fré. Private to "deviez": vz.
"défier" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "deviez" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- deviez ← ddeviez · deivez · deveiz · deviezz · devize · devviez · dveiez · edviez
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "défier" and "deviez" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "défier" or "deviez" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "défier" and "deviez" 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 "deviez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #254,697 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défier" and "deviez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "deviez vs diez". 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 #254,697 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.