Which to use
“imite” and “incite” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,506
- “imite” frequency rank
- #10,178
- “incite” frequency rank
- 28684
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | imite | incite |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de imiter. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de inciter. |
Where the eye mixes imite and incite
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. imite runs 5 letters (VCVCV) against incite's 6 (VCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between imite and incite
A purely visual mix-up. imite (\i.mit\) and incite (\ɛ̃.sit\) 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 28684, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
imite is recorded at frequency rank #18,506, classified as averb, pronounced \i.mit\. incite is at rank #10,178, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛ̃.sit\.
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 28684, this pair ranks #321,323 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of imite vs incite
Shared letters: eit. Private to "imite": m. Private to "incite": cn.
"imite" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "incite" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "imite" and "incite" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "imite" or "incite"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "imite" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "incite" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #321,323 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "imite" and "incite" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ime vs imite". 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 #321,323 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.