Which to use
“délirer” and “délivrer” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,817
- “délirer” frequency rank
- #10,145
- “délivrer” frequency rank
- 46962
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | délirer | délivrer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Avoir le délire ; être en délire. | Rendre libre de ce qui oppresse, de ce qui fait souffrir, de ce qui incommode. |
Where the eye mixes délirer and délivrer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. délirer runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against délivrer's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses délirer with délivrer
A purely visual mix-up. délirer (\de.li.ʁe\) and délivrer (\de.li.vʁe\) 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 46962, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
délirer is recorded at frequency rank #36,817, classified as averb, pronounced \de.li.ʁe\. délivrer is at rank #10,145, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.li.vʁe\.
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 46962, this pair ranks #190,675 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of délirer vs délivrer
Shared letters: deilré. Private to "délirer": -. Private to "délivrer": v.
"délirer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "délivrer" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "délirer" for "délivrer" ever safe?
Frequency check: "délirer" vs "délivrer" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "délirer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "délivrer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #190,675 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "délirer" and "délivrer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "délier vs délirer". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #190,675 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.