déformevsdéfouleWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: déforme is a noun, défoule is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“déforme” is a noun and “défoule” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#30,576
“déforme” frequency rank
#42,842
“défoule” frequency rank
73418
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature déforme défoule
Definition Baisse de forme ou de moral. Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de défouler.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set déforme and défoule apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
déforme
7 ch
défoule

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: déforme is \de.fɔʁm\ while défoule is \de.ful\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73418, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

déforme is recorded at frequency rank #30,576, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.fɔʁm\. défoule is at rank #42,842, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.ful\.

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 73418, this pair ranks #40,540 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of déforme vs défoule

Shared letters: defoé. Private to "déforme": mr. Private to "défoule": lu.

"déforme" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "défoule" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV

Frequency comparison

déforme#30,576
défoule#42,842

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "déforme" and "défoule" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "déforme" is a noun and "défoule" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "déforme" or "défoule"?
"déforme" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,576 in our French list, against #42,842 for "défoule". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering déforme vs défoule

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “déforme”; for a verb, it's “défoule”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “déforme” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list