Which to use
“démentie” is an adjective and “détente” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,997
- “démentie” frequency rank
- #8,103
- “détente” frequency rank
- 43100
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | démentie | détente |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin singulier de démenti. | Diminution progressive de la pression d’un gaz ou d’une vapeur qui augmente de volume, ou bien de la tension d’un ressort qui revient à son équilibre. |
Where the eye mixes démentie and détente
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. démentie runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVV) against détente's 7 (CVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses démentie with détente
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: démentie is \de.mɑ̃.ti\ while détente is \de.tɑ̃t\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43100, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
démentie is recorded at frequency rank #34,997, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.mɑ̃.ti\. détente is at rank #8,103, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.tɑ̃t\.
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 43100, this pair ranks #220,608 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of démentie vs détente
Shared letters: denté. Private to "démentie": im. Private to "détente": -.
"démentie" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV · "détente" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "démentie" for "détente" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "démentie" or "détente" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "démentie" and "détente" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "démentie" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "détente" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #220,608 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "démentie" and "détente" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "démentie vs démettre". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #220,608 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.