Which to use
“extension” and “extorsion” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,195
- “extension” frequency rank
- #28,946
- “extorsion” frequency rank
- 32141
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | extension | extorsion |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Accroissement d’étendue. | Action d’extorquer, d'obtenir par la force, le chantage, l'intimidation ou tout autre moyen de pression. |
Where the eye mixes extension and extorsion
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. extension and extorsion follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between extension and extorsion
A purely visual mix-up. extension (\ɛk.stɑ̃.sjɔ̃\) and extorsion (\ɛk.stɔʁ.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 32141, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
extension is recorded at frequency rank #3,195, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛk.stɑ̃.sjɔ̃\. extorsion is at rank #28,946, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛk.stɔʁ.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 32141, this pair ranks #299,267 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of extension vs extorsion
Shared letters: einostx. Private to "extension": -. Private to "extorsion": r.
"extension" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVVC · "extorsion" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "extension" and "extorsion" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "extension" vs "extorsion" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "extension" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "extorsion" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #299,267 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "extension" and "extorsion" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "excursion vs extorsion". 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 #299,267 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.