malformation vs malformations

Which to use

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

#32,063
“malformation” frequency rank: #32,889
“malformations” frequency rank: 64952
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	malformation	malformations
Definition	Vice de conformation.	Pluriel de malformation.

Same sound, different letters: malformation vs malformations

Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 12 letters. malformation runs 12 letters (CVCCVCCVCVVC) against malformations's 13 (CVCCVCCVCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

12 ch

malformation

13 ch

malformations

Homophone desk: malformation vs malformations

This is the hard kind. malformation and malformations are pronounced identically (\mal.fɔʁ.ma.sjɔ̃\) and both work as anoun. 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) - “malformation” sits inside “malformations”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64952, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

malformation is recorded at frequency rank #32,063, classified as anoun, pronounced \mal.fɔʁ.ma.sjɔ̃\. malformations is at rank #32,889, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mal.fɔʁ.ma.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 64952, this pair ranks #74,569 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of malformation vs malformations

Shared letters: afilmnort. Private to "malformation": -. Private to "malformations": s.

"malformation" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCVVC · "malformations" · 13 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

malformation ← amlformation · maflormation · malfformation · malfomration · malforamtion · malformaiton · malformatino · malformationn
malformations ← amlformations · maflormations · malfformations · malfomrations · malforamtions · malformaitons · malformatinos · malformationns

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "malformation" and "malformations" mean the same thing in a sentence?

No. They are pronounced the same (\mal.fɔʁ.ma.sjɔ̃\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.

Frequency check: "malformation" vs "malformations" - which ranks higher?

"malformation" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,063 in our French list, against #32,889 for "malformations". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.

Full dictionary entry for "malformation" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "malformations" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #74,569 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
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 #74,569 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.