Which to use
“dégagent” and “dégradent” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,704
- “dégagent” frequency rank
- #33,234
- “dégradent” frequency rank
- 53938
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dégagent | dégradent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de dégager. | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de dégrader. |
Where the eye mixes dégagent and dégradent
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. dégagent runs 8 letters (CVCVCVCC) against dégradent's 9 (CVCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses dégagent with dégradent
A purely visual mix-up. dégagent (\de.ɡaʒ\) and dégradent (\de.ɡʁad\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53938, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dégagent is recorded at frequency rank #20,704, classified as averb, pronounced \de.ɡaʒ\. dégradent is at rank #33,234, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.ɡʁad\.
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 53938, this pair ranks #137,433 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dégagent vs dégradent
Shared letters: adegnté. Private to "dégagent": -. Private to "dégradent": r.
"dégagent" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC · "dégradent" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dégagent" and "dégradent" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "dégagent" or "dégradent"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "dégagent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dégradent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #137,433 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dégagent" and "dégradent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décadent vs dégradent". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #137,433 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.