interceptionsvsinterruptionsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#28,211
“interceptions” frequency rank
#26,766
“interruptions” frequency rank
54977
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature interceptions interruptions
Definition Pluriel de interception. Pluriel de interruption.

Where the eye mixes interceptions and interruptions

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence.

13 ch
interceptions
13 ch
interruptions

Why the eye confuses interceptions with interruptions

A purely visual mix-up. interceptions (\ɛ̃.tɛʁ.sɛp.sjɔ̃\) and interruptions (\ɛ̃.tɛ.ʁyp.sjɔ̃\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54977, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

interceptions is recorded at frequency rank #28,211, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.tɛʁ.sɛp.sjɔ̃\. interruptions is at rank #26,766, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.tɛ.ʁyp.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 54977, this pair ranks #130,429 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of interceptions vs interruptions

Shared letters: einoprst. Private to "interceptions": c. Private to "interruptions": u.

"interceptions" · 13 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVVCC  ·  "interruptions" · 13 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • interceptionsinetrceptions · innterceptions · intecreptions · intercceptions · intercepitons · intercepptions · interceptinos · interceptionns
  • interruptionsinetrruptions · innterruptions · interrputions · interrupitons · interrupptions · interruptinos · interruptionns · interruptionss

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "interceptions" and "interruptions" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɛ̃.tɛʁ.sɛp.sjɔ̃\ versus \ɛ̃.tɛ.ʁyp.sjɔ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "interceptions" vs "interruptions" - which ranks higher?
"interruptions" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,766 in our French list, against #28,211 for "interceptions". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "interceptions" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "interruptions" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #130,429 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "interceptions" and "interruptions" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "interceptions vs intersections". 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 #130,429 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list