synthèsevssynthèsesTell them apart

Which to use

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

#4,897
“synthèse” frequency rank
#33,039
“synthèses” frequency rank
37936
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature synthèse synthèses
Definition Recomposition des éléments d’un tout, en particulier, de la thèse et de l'antithèse. Pluriel de synthèse.

Same sound, different letters: synthèse vs synthèses

Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 8 letters. synthèse runs 8 letters (CVCCCVCV) against synthèses's 9 (CVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
synthèse
9 ch
synthèses

Homophone desk: synthèse vs synthèses

This is the hard kind. synthèse and synthèses are pronounced identically (\sɛ̃.tɛz\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “synthèse” sits inside “synthèses”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37936, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

synthèse is recorded at frequency rank #4,897, classified as anoun, pronounced \sɛ̃.tɛz\. synthèses is at rank #33,039, tagged as anoun, pronounced \sɛ̃.tɛz\.

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 37936, this pair ranks #258,904 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of synthèse vs synthèses

Shared letters: ehnstyè. Private to "synthèse": -. Private to "synthèses": -.

"synthèse" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV  ·  "synthèses" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "synthèse" for "synthèses" ever safe?
No. They are pronounced the same (\sɛ̃.tɛz\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Frequency check: "synthèse" vs "synthèses" - which ranks higher?
"synthèse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,897 in our French list, against #33,039 for "synthèses". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.

  • Full dictionary entry for "synthèse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "synthèses" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #258,904 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "synthèse" and "synthèses" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "synthé vs synthèse". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #258,904 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list