Which to use
“lessive” and “lessives” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,668
- “lessive” frequency rank
- #47,424
- “lessives” frequency rank
- 63092
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lessive | lessives |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Eau chaude que l’on verse sur du linge à blanchir, qui est entassé dans un cuvier et sur lequel on a mis un lit de soude, de potasse ou de cendre de bois. | Pluriel de lessive. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lessive and lessives apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
lessive and lessives form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “lessive” sits inside “lessives” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63092, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lessive is recorded at frequency rank #15,668, classified as anoun, pronounced \lɛ.siv\. lessives is at rank #47,424, tagged as anoun, pronounced \le.siv\.
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 63092, this pair ranks #83,761 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lessive" and "lessives" be used interchangeably?
Remembering lessive vs lessives
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 “lessive” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable