Which to use
“sanctions” and “sections” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,029
- “sanctions” frequency rank
- #6,756
- “sections” frequency rank
- 12785
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sanctions | sections |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de sanction. | Pluriel de section. |
Where the eye mixes sanctions and sections
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sanctions vs sections
A purely visual mix-up. sanctions (\sɑ̃k.sjɔ̃\) and sections (\sɛk.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 12785, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sanctions is recorded at frequency rank #6,029, classified as anoun, pronounced \sɑ̃k.sjɔ̃\. sections is at rank #6,756, tagged as anoun, pronounced \sɛk.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 12785, this pair ranks #403,776 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sanctions vs sections
Shared letters: cinost. Private to "sanctions": a. Private to "sections": e.
"sanctions" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVVCC · "sections" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sanctions" and "sections" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "sanctions" or "sections"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sanctions" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sections" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #403,776 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sanctions" and "sections" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sachions vs sections". 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 #403,776 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.