Which to use
“dément” is an adjective and “depend” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,364
- “dément” frequency rank
- #26,692
- “depend” frequency rank
- 40056
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dément | depend |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui est dans l’état de démence. | (Suivi de on ou de upon, et plus anciennement de of) Dépendre (de). |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dément and depend apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
dément and depend form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40056, 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\. depend is at rank #26,692, tagged as averb, pronounced \dɪˈpɛnd\.
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 40056, this pair ranks #243,388 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dément" and "depend" be used interchangeably?
Remembering dément vs depend
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 “depend”.
- 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