Which to use
“insolence” is a noun and “insolent” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,902
- “insolence” frequency rank
- #23,905
- “insolent” frequency rank
- 46807
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | insolence | insolent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Manque de respect qui se manifeste par de l’effronterie et une hardiesse excessive. | Qui s'oppose à son supérieur, hiérarchique ou autre, de façon moqueuse ; qui perd le respect à force d’effronterie ou de hardiesse excessive. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set insolence and insolent apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: insolence is \ɛ̃.sɔ.lɑ̃s\ while insolent is \ɛ̃.sɔ.lɑ̃\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46807, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
insolence is recorded at frequency rank #22,902, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.sɔ.lɑ̃s\. insolent is at rank #23,905, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɛ̃.sɔ.lɑ̃\.
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 46807, this pair ranks #191,917 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of insolence vs insolent
Shared letters: eilnos. Private to "insolence": c. Private to "insolent": t.
"insolence" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCCV · "insolent" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "insolence" and "insolent" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "insolence" or "insolent"?
Remembering insolence vs insolent
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “insolence”; for an adjective, it's “insolent”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “insolence” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable