désolésvsdévolusWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#28,146
“désolés” frequency rank
#46,134
“dévolus” frequency rank
74280
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature désolés dévolus
Definition Masculin pluriel de l’adjectif désolé. Masculin pluriel de dévolu.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set désolés and dévolus apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
désolés
7 ch
dévolus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. désolés (\de.zɔ.le\) and dévolus (\de.vɔ.ly\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74280, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

désolés is recorded at frequency rank #28,146, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.zɔ.le\. dévolus is at rank #46,134, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.vɔ.ly\.

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 74280, this pair ranks #37,635 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of désolés vs dévolus

Shared letters: dlosé. Private to "désolés": -. Private to "dévolus": uv.

"désolés" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "dévolus" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

désolés#28,146
dévolus#46,134

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "désolés" and "dévolus" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.zɔ.le\ versus \de.vɔ.ly\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "désolés" or "dévolus"?
"désolés" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,146 in our French list, against #46,134 for "dévolus". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering désolés vs dévolus

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 “désolés” 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