Which to use
“reaction” and “réactions” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,770
- “reaction” frequency rank
- #3,358
- “réactions” frequency rank
- 34128
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reaction | réactions |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Réaction. | Pluriel de réaction. |
Where the eye mixes reaction and réactions
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. reaction runs 8 letters (CVVCCVVC) against réactions's 9 (CVVCCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: reaction vs réactions
A purely visual mix-up. reaction (\ɹiˈæk.ʃən\) and réactions (\ʁe.ak.sjɔ̃\) 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 34128, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reaction is recorded at frequency rank #30,770, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɹiˈæk.ʃən\. réactions is at rank #3,358, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁe.ak.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 34128, this pair ranks #285,956 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of reaction vs réactions
Shared letters: acinort. Private to "reaction": e. Private to "réactions": sé.
"reaction" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVVC · "réactions" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- reaction ← eraction · raection · reacction · reaciton · reactino · reactionn · reactoin · reacttion
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "reaction" and "réactions" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "reaction" or "réactions"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "reaction" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "réactions" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #285,956 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reaction" and "réactions" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "reaction vs réfraction". Nearby pair
- 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 #285,956 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.