Which to use
“défiler” and “délirer” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,365
- “défiler” frequency rank
- #36,817
- “délirer” frequency rank
- 49182
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défiler | délirer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Détacher une chose du fil du cordon où elle était passée. | Avoir le délire ; être en délire. |
Where the eye mixes défiler and délirer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. défiler and délirer follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses défiler with délirer
A purely visual mix-up. défiler (\de.fi.le\) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49182, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défiler is recorded at frequency rank #12,365, classified as averb, pronounced \de.fi.le\. 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 49182, this pair ranks #172,780 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défiler vs délirer
Shared letters: deilré. Private to "défiler": f. Private to "délirer": -.
"défiler" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "délirer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "défiler" for "délirer" ever safe?
Which is more common, "défiler" or "délirer"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "défiler" and "délirer" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "défiler" 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 #172,780 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défiler" and "délirer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "délier vs délirer". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #172,780 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.