Which to use
“désoler” is a verb and “désolés” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,770
- “désoler” frequency rank
- #28,146
- “désolés” frequency rank
- 67916
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | désoler | désolés |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Transformer en solitude une région, une ville, en y exerçant des ravages. | Masculin pluriel de l’adjectif désolé. |
Same sound, different letters: désoler vs désolés
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 5 letters.
Ear matches; page differs - désoler and désolés
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: désoler and désolés carry the same recorded pronunciation, \de.zɔ.le\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other anadjective, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67916, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
désoler is recorded at frequency rank #39,770, classified as averb, pronounced \de.zɔ.le\. désolés is at rank #28,146, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.zɔ.le\.
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 67916, this pair ranks #61,398 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of désoler vs désolés
Shared letters: dlosé. Private to "désoler": er. Private to "désolés": -.
"désoler" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "désolés" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "désoler" and "désolés" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "désoler" or "désolés"?
After this comparison
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "désoler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "désolés" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #61,398 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "désoler" and "désolés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dénouer vs désoler". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #61,398 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.