défoncervsdéfoncésConfusable pair

Quick tell: défoncer is a verb, défoncés is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“défoncer” is a verb and “défoncés” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#12,145
“défoncer” frequency rank
#36,362
“défoncés” frequency rank
48507
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature défoncer défoncés
Definition Dégarnir de son fond. Masculin pluriel de défoncé.

Same sound, different letters: défoncer vs défoncés

Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 6 letters. défoncer and défoncés follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
défoncer
8 ch
défoncés

Same sound, different spelling - défoncer / défoncés

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: défoncer and défoncés carry the same recorded pronunciation, \de.fɔ̃.se\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other anadjective, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48507, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

défoncer is recorded at frequency rank #12,145, classified as averb, pronounced \de.fɔ̃.se\. défoncés is at rank #36,362, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.fɔ̃.se\.

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 48507, this pair ranks #178,359 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of défoncer vs défoncés

Shared letters: cdfnoé. Private to "défoncer": er. Private to "défoncés": s.

"défoncer" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "défoncés" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "défoncer" for "défoncés" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "défoncer" is a verb and "défoncés" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "défoncer" vs "défoncés" - which ranks higher?
"défoncer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,145 in our French list, against #36,362 for "défoncés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.

  • Full dictionary entry for "défoncer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "défoncés" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #178,359 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "défoncer" and "défoncés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déconnes vs défoncés". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #178,359 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list