Which to use
“dégager” and “dégrader” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,751
- “dégager” frequency rank
- #17,686
- “dégrader” frequency rank
- 23437
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dégager | dégrader |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Rendre à quelqu’un sa parole, ne pas exiger qu’il tienne sa promesse, l’affranchir de la responsabilité à laquelle il était tenu. | Dépouiller, destituer quelqu’un d’une manière infamante de son grade, de sa dignité, de son emploi, etc. |
Where the eye mixes dégager and dégrader
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: dégager vs dégrader
A purely visual mix-up. dégager (\de.ɡa.ʒe\) and dégrader (\de.ɡʁa.de\) 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 23437, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dégager is recorded at frequency rank #5,751, classified as averb, pronounced \de.ɡa.ʒe\. dégrader is at rank #17,686, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.ɡʁa.de\.
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 23437, this pair ranks #352,481 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dégager vs dégrader
Shared letters: adegré. Private to "dégager": -. Private to "dégrader": -.
"dégager" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "dégrader" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dégager" and "dégrader" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "dégager" vs "dégrader" - which ranks higher?
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 "dégager" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dégrader" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #352,481 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dégager" and "dégrader" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dégrader vs déraper". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #352,481 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.