incantationsvsincitationsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#44,500
“incantations” frequency rank
#26,050
“incitations” frequency rank
70550
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature incantations incitations
Definition Pluriel de incantation. Pluriel de incitation.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set incantations and incitations apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

12 ch
incantations
11 ch
incitations

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. incantations (\ɛ̃.kɑ̃.ta.sjɔ̃\) and incitations (\ɛ̃.si.ta.sjɔ̃\) 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 70550, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

incantations is recorded at frequency rank #44,500, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.kɑ̃.ta.sjɔ̃\. incitations is at rank #26,050, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.si.ta.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 70550, this pair ranks #50,891 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of incantations vs incitations

Shared letters: acinost. Private to "incantations": -. Private to "incitations": -.

"incantations" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVVCC  ·  "incitations" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCVCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • incantationsicnantations · inacntations · incanattions · incanntations · incantaitons · incantatinos · incantationns · incantationss
  • incitationsicnitations · inccitations · inciattions · incitaitons · incitatinos · incitationns · incitationss · incitatiosn

Frequency comparison

incantations#44,500
incitations#26,050

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "incantations" and "incitations" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɛ̃.kɑ̃.ta.sjɔ̃\ versus \ɛ̃.si.ta.sjɔ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "incantations" or "incitations"?
"incitations" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,050 in our French list, against #44,500 for "incantations". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering incantations vs incitations

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 “incantations” 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