intermittentvsintermittentsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#31,559
“intermittent” frequency rank
#33,739
“intermittents” frequency rank
65298
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature intermittent intermittents
Definition Qui est discontinu et reprend par intervalles. Masculin pluriel de intermittent.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set intermittent and intermittents apart are highlighted. They share 12 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

12 ch
intermittent
13 ch
intermittents

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. intermittent and intermittents are pronounced identically (\ɛ̃.tɛʁ.mi.tɑ̃\) and both work as anadjective. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “intermittent” sits inside “intermittents”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65298, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

intermittent is recorded at frequency rank #31,559, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɛ̃.tɛʁ.mi.tɑ̃\. intermittents is at rank #33,739, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɛ̃.tɛʁ.mi.tɑ̃\.

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 65298, this pair ranks #72,993 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of intermittent vs intermittents

Shared letters: eimnrt. Private to "intermittent": -. Private to "intermittents": s.

"intermittent" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVCC  ·  "intermittents" · 13 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • intermittentinetrmittent · inntermittent · intemrittent · interimttent · intermitent · intermitetnt · intermittennt · intermittentt
  • intermittentsinetrmittents · inntermittents · intemrittents · interimttents · intermitents · intermitetnts · intermittennts · intermittenst

Frequency comparison

intermittent#31,559
intermittents#33,739

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "intermittent" and "intermittents" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\ɛ̃.tɛʁ.mi.tɑ̃\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "intermittent" or "intermittents"?
"intermittent" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,559 in our French list, against #33,739 for "intermittents". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering intermittent vs intermittents

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 “intermittent” 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