Which to use
“désoler” and “dévoiler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,770
- “désoler” frequency rank
- #9,160
- “dévoiler” frequency rank
- 48930
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | désoler | dévoiler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Transformer en solitude une région, une ville, en y exerçant des ravages. | Découvrir ce qui était couvert d’un voile. |
Where the eye mixes désoler and dévoiler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. désoler runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against dévoiler's 8 (CVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses désoler with dévoiler
A purely visual mix-up. désoler (\de.zɔ.le\) and dévoiler (\de.vwa.le\) 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 48930, 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\. dévoiler is at rank #9,160, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.vwa.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 48930, this pair ranks #174,919 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of désoler vs dévoiler
Shared letters: deloré. Private to "désoler": s. Private to "dévoiler": iv.
"désoler" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "dévoiler" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "désoler" for "dévoiler" ever safe?
Frequency check: "désoler" vs "dévoiler" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "désoler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dévoiler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #174,919 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "désoler" and "dévoiler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dénouer vs désoler". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #174,919 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.