Which to use
“intelligence” is a noun and “intelligent” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,721
- “intelligence” frequency rank
- #3,463
- “intelligent” frequency rank
- 6184
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | intelligence | intelligent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Faculté de comprendre, de ne pas se méprendre sur le sens des mots, la nature des choses et la signification des faits. | Qui est pourvu de la faculté de comprendre, qui est capable de concevoir et de raisonner. |
Where the eye mixes intelligence and intelligent
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses intelligence with intelligent
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: intelligence is \ɛ̃.te.li.ʒɑ̃s\ while intelligent is \ɛ̃.te.li.ʒɑ̃\. 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 6184, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
intelligence is recorded at frequency rank #2,721, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.te.li.ʒɑ̃s\. intelligent is at rank #3,463, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɛ̃.te.li.ʒɑ̃\.
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 6184, this pair ranks #426,936 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of intelligence vs intelligent
Shared letters: egilnt. Private to "intelligence": c. Private to "intelligent": -.
"intelligence" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVCCV · "intelligent" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- intelligence ← inetlligence · inntelligence · inteligence · intelilgence · intellgience · intelliegnce · intelligecne · intelligencce
- intelligent ← inetlligent · inntelligent · inteligent · intelilgent · intellgient · intelliegnt · intelligennt · intelligentt
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "intelligence" and "intelligent" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "intelligence" or "intelligent"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "intelligence" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "intelligent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #426,936 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "intelligence" and "intelligent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "intelligence vs intelligences". 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 #426,936 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.