éloignantvséloignentWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#28,803
“éloignant” frequency rank
#23,426
“éloignent” frequency rank
52229
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature éloignant éloignent
Definition Participe présent de éloigner. Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de éloigner.

Where the eye mixes éloignant and éloignent

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

9 ch
éloignant
9 ch
éloignent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. éloignant (\e.lwa.ɲɑ̃\) and éloignent (\e.lwaɲ\) 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 a single letter - a in “éloignant” becomes e in “éloignent”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52229, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

éloignant is recorded at frequency rank #28,803, classified as averb, pronounced \e.lwa.ɲɑ̃\. éloignent is at rank #23,426, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.lwaɲ\.

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 52229, this pair ranks #149,176 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of éloignant vs éloignent

Shared letters: gilnoté. Private to "éloignant": a. Private to "éloignent": e.

"éloignant" · 9 letters · shape VCVVCCVCC  ·  "éloignent" · 9 letters · shape VCVVCCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "éloignant" and "éloignent" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\e.lwa.ɲɑ̃\ versus \e.lwaɲ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "éloignant" or "éloignent"?
"éloignent" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,426 in our French list, against #28,803 for "éloignant". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list