exagérationsvsexonérationsConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#49,643
“exagérations” frequency rank
#35,937
“exonérations” frequency rank
85580
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature exagérations exonérations
Definition Pluriel de exagération. Pluriel de exonération.

Where the eye mixes exagérations and exonérations

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. exagérations and exonérations follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVCVCVCVVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

12 ch
exagérations
12 ch
exonérations

Visual trap between exagérations and exonérations

A purely visual mix-up. exagérations (\ɛɡ.za.ʒe.ʁa.sjɔ̃\) and exonérations (\ɛɡ.zɔ.ne.ʁa.sjɔ̃\) 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 85580, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

exagérations is recorded at frequency rank #49,643, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛɡ.za.ʒe.ʁa.sjɔ̃\. exonérations is at rank #35,937, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛɡ.zɔ.ne.ʁa.sjɔ̃\.

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 85580, this pair ranks #11,095 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of exagérations vs exonérations

Shared letters: aeinorstxé. Private to "exagérations": g. Private to "exonérations": -.

"exagérations" · 12 letters · shape VCVCVCVCVVCC  ·  "exonérations" · 12 letters · shape VCVCVCVCVVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "exagérations" for "exonérations" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\ɛɡ.za.ʒe.ʁa.sjɔ̃\ versus \ɛɡ.zɔ.ne.ʁa.sjɔ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "exagérations" or "exonérations"?
"exonérations" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,937 in our French list, against #49,643 for "exagérations". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "exagérations" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "exonérations" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #11,095 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "exagérations" and "exonérations" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "exagération vs exagérations". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #11,095 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list