éloignentvséloignerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#23,426
“éloignent” frequency rank
#6,261
“éloigner” frequency rank
29687
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature éloignent éloigner
Definition Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de éloigner. Écarter une chose ou une personne d’une autre ; mettre, porter, ou envoyer loin de, en parlant des distances, comme du temps.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set éloignent and éloigner apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
éloignent
8 ch
éloigner

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. éloignent (\e.lwaɲ\) and éloigner (\e.lwa.ɲe\) 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 29687, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

éloignent is recorded at frequency rank #23,426, classified as averb, pronounced \e.lwaɲ\. éloigner is at rank #6,261, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.lwa.ɲe\.

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 29687, this pair ranks #315,108 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of éloignent vs éloigner

Shared letters: egilnoé. Private to "éloignent": t. Private to "éloigner": r.

"éloignent" · 9 letters · shape VCVVCCVCC  ·  "éloigner" · 8 letters · shape VCVVCCVC

Frequency comparison

éloignent#23,426
éloigner#6,261

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "éloignent" and "éloigner" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\e.lwaɲ\ versus \e.lwa.ɲe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "éloignent" or "éloigner"?
"éloigner" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,261 in our French list, against #23,426 for "éloignent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering éloignent vs éloigner

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 “éloignent” 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