désactivevsdésactivéeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“désactive” and “désactivée” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#35,003
“désactive” frequency rank
#46,731
“désactivée” frequency rank
81734
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature désactive désactivée
Definition Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de désactiver. Participe passé féminin singulier de désactiver.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set désactive and désactivée apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
désactive
10 ch
désactivée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. désactive (\de.zak.tiv\) and désactivée (\de.zak.ti.ve\) 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 81734, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

désactive is recorded at frequency rank #35,003, classified as averb, pronounced \de.zak.tiv\. désactivée is at rank #46,731, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.zak.ti.ve\.

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 81734, this pair ranks #18,135 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of désactive vs désactivée

Shared letters: acdeistvé. Private to "désactive": -. Private to "désactivée": -.

"désactive" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV  ·  "désactivée" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVV

Frequency comparison

désactive#35,003
désactivée#46,731

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "désactive" and "désactivée" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.zak.tiv\ versus \de.zak.ti.ve\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "désactive" or "désactivée"?
"désactive" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,003 in our French list, against #46,731 for "désactivée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering désactive vs désactivée

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “désactive” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list