Which to use
“démission” and “dérision” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,570
- “démission” frequency rank
- #17,121
- “dérision” frequency rank
- 21691
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | démission | dérision |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Acte par lequel on se démet d’une dignité, d’un emploi, etc. | Moquerie souvent accompagnée de mépris. |
Where the eye mixes démission and dérision
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. démission runs 9 letters (CVCVCCVVC) against dérision's 8 (CVCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: démission vs dérision
A purely visual mix-up. démission (\de.mi.sjɔ̃\) and dérision (\de.ʁi.zjɔ̃\) 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 21691, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
démission is recorded at frequency rank #4,570, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.mi.sjɔ̃\. dérision is at rank #17,121, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.ʁi.zjɔ̃\.
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 21691, this pair ranks #361,916 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of démission vs dérision
Shared letters: dinosé. Private to "démission": m. Private to "dérision": r.
"démission" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC · "dérision" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "démission" for "dérision" ever safe?
Frequency check: "démission" vs "dérision" - 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 "démission" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dérision" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #361,916 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "démission" and "dérision" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "decision vs dérision". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #361,916 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.