répugnant vs répugnante, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#31,242
“répugnant” frequency rank: #45,296
“répugnante” frequency rank: 76538
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	répugnant	répugnante
Definition	Qui répugne ; repoussant.	Féminin singulier de répugnant.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set répugnant and répugnante apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch

répugnant

10 ch

répugnante

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. répugnant (\ʁe.py.ɲɑ̃\) and répugnante (\ʁe.py.ɲɑ̃t\) 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 extra letter(s) - “répugnant” sits inside “répugnante”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76538, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

répugnant is recorded at frequency rank #31,242, classified as anadj, pronounced \ʁe.py.ɲɑ̃\. répugnante is at rank #45,296, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʁe.py.ɲɑ̃t\.

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 76538, this pair ranks #30,845 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of répugnant vs répugnante

Shared letters: agnprtué. Private to "répugnant": -. Private to "répugnante": e.

"répugnant" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC · "répugnante" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCV

Frequency comparison

répugnant#31,242

répugnante#45,296

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "répugnant" and "répugnante" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (\ʁe.py.ɲɑ̃\ versus \ʁe.py.ɲɑ̃t\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "répugnant" or "répugnante"?

"répugnant" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,242 in our French list, against #45,296 for "répugnante". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering répugnant vs répugnante

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 “répugnant” entry
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