Which to use
“élimine” and “examine” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,888
- “élimine” frequency rank
- #13,592
- “examine” frequency rank
- 26480
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | élimine | examine |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de éliminer. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de examiner. |
Where the eye mixes élimine and examine
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. élimine and examine follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses élimine with examine
A purely visual mix-up. élimine (\e.li.min\) and examine (\ɛɡ.za.min\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26480, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
élimine is recorded at frequency rank #12,888, classified as averb, pronounced \e.li.min\. examine is at rank #13,592, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛɡ.za.min\.
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 26480, this pair ranks #334,742 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of élimine vs examine
Shared letters: eimn. Private to "élimine": lé. Private to "examine": ax.
"élimine" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV · "examine" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- examine ← eaxmine · exaimne · examien · examinne · exammine · examnie · exmaine · exxamine
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "élimine" for "examine" ever safe?
Frequency check: "élimine" vs "examine" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "élimine" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "examine" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #334,742 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "élimine" and "examine" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "examine vs examinez". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #334,742 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.