incitevsinsisteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,178
“incite” frequency rank
#5,467
“insiste” frequency rank
15645
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature incite insiste
Definition Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de inciter. Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de insister.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set incite and insiste apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
incite
7 ch
insiste

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. incite (\ɛ̃.sit\) and insiste (\ɛ̃.sist\) 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 15645, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

incite is recorded at frequency rank #10,178, classified as averb, pronounced \ɛ̃.sit\. insiste is at rank #5,467, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛ̃.sist\.

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 15645, this pair ranks #391,471 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of incite vs insiste

Shared letters: eint. Private to "incite": c. Private to "insiste": s.

"incite" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "insiste" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • inciteicnite · inccite · inciet · incitte · inctie · inicte · inncite · nicite
  • insisteinisste · innsiste · insiset · insisste · insistte · insitse · inssiste · inssite

Frequency comparison

incite#10,178
insiste#5,467

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "incite" and "insiste" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɛ̃.sit\ versus \ɛ̃.sist\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "incite" or "insiste"?
"insiste" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,467 in our French list, against #10,178 for "incite". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering incite vs insiste

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 “incite” 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