intimementvsinutilementWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,168
“intimement” frequency rank
#15,657
“inutilement” frequency rank
32825
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature intimement inutilement
Definition D'une manière intime, dans le fond des choses. Sans utilité, d’une manière inutile.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set intimement and inutilement apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
intimement
11 ch
inutilement

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. intimement (\ɛ̃.tim.mɑ̃\) and inutilement (\i.ny.til.mɑ̃\) 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 32825, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

intimement is recorded at frequency rank #17,168, classified as anadv, pronounced \ɛ̃.tim.mɑ̃\. inutilement is at rank #15,657, tagged as anadv, pronounced \i.ny.til.mɑ̃\.

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 32825, this pair ranks #294,709 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of intimement vs inutilement

Shared letters: eimnt. Private to "intimement": -. Private to "inutilement": lu.

"intimement" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCVCC  ·  "inutilement" · 11 letters · shape VCVCVCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • intimementinitmement · inntimement · intiemment · intimeemnt · intimemennt · intimementt · intimemetn · intimemment
  • inutilementinnutilement · intuilement · inuitlement · inutielment · inutileemnt · inutilemennt · inutilementt · inutilemetn

Frequency comparison

intimement#17,168
inutilement#15,657

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "intimement" and "inutilement" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɛ̃.tim.mɑ̃\ versus \i.ny.til.mɑ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "intimement" or "inutilement"?
"inutilement" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,657 in our French list, against #17,168 for "intimement". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering intimement vs inutilement

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 “intimement” 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