Which to use
“persécuter” is a verb and “persécutés” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #43,598
- “persécuter” frequency rank
- #21,723
- “persécutés” frequency rank
- 65321
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | persécuter | persécutés |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Inquiéter, tourmenter sans relâche par des voies injustes, par des poursuites violentes. | Masculin pluriel de persécuté. |
Same sound, different letters: persécuter vs persécutés
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 8 letters. persécuter and persécutés follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Homophone desk: persécuter vs persécutés
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: persécuter and persécutés carry the same recorded pronunciation, \pɛʁ.se.ky.te\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other anadjective, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65321, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
persécuter is recorded at frequency rank #43,598, classified as averb, pronounced \pɛʁ.se.ky.te\. persécutés is at rank #21,723, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pɛʁ.se.ky.te\.
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 65321, this pair ranks #72,890 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of persécuter vs persécutés
Shared letters: ceprstué. Private to "persécuter": -. Private to "persécutés": -.
"persécuter" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC · "persécutés" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "persécuter" and "persécutés" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "persécuter" vs "persécutés" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
You've separated the homophone pair "persécuter" / "persécutés". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "persécuter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "persécutés" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #72,890 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "persécuter" and "persécutés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "percuter vs persécuter". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #72,890 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.