Which to use
“dément” is an adjective and “démentir” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,364
- “dément” frequency rank
- #27,415
- “démentir” frequency rank
- 40779
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dément | démentir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui est dans l’état de démence. | Contredire quelqu’un en niant la véracité de ce qu’il a affirmé. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dément and démentir apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dément is \de.mɑ̃\ while démentir is \de.mɑ̃.tiʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “dément” sits inside “démentir”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40779, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dément is recorded at frequency rank #13,364, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.mɑ̃\. démentir is at rank #27,415, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.mɑ̃.tiʁ\.
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 40779, this pair ranks #237,953 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dément vs démentir
Shared letters: demnté. Private to "dément": -. Private to "démentir": ir.
"dément" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "démentir" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dément" and "démentir" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "dément" or "démentir"?
Remembering dément vs démentir
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “dément”; for a verb, it's “démentir”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dément” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable