refuséesvsrefuserWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: refusées is a adjective, refuser is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“refusées” is an adjective and “refuser” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#35,240
“refusées” frequency rank
#3,562
“refuser” frequency rank
38802
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature refusées refuser
Definition Féminin pluriel de refusé. Rejeter une demande, ne pas accorder ce qui est demandé ; ne pas vouloir faire ce qui est exigé, prescrit, ordonné.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set refusées and refuser apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
refusées
7 ch
refuser

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: refusées and refuser carry the same recorded pronunciation, \ʁə.fy.ze\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38802, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

refusées is recorded at frequency rank #35,240, classified as anadj, pronounced \ʁə.fy.ze\. refuser is at rank #3,562, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʁə.fy.ze\.

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 38802, this pair ranks #252,695 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of refusées vs refuser

Shared letters: efrsu. Private to "refusées": é. Private to "refuser": -.

"refusées" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC  ·  "refuser" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • refusererfuser · reffuser · refsuer · refuesr · refuserr · refusre · refusser · reufser

Frequency comparison

refusées#35,240
refuser#3,562

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "refusées" and "refuser" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "refusées" is an adjective and "refuser" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "refusées" or "refuser"?
"refuser" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,562 in our French list, against #35,240 for "refusées". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering refusées vs refuser

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “refusées”; for a verb, it's “refuser”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “refusées” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list