turbulencevsturbulencesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#33,499
“turbulence” frequency rank
#27,648
“turbulences” frequency rank
61147
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature turbulence turbulences
Definition Caractère de celui qui est turbulent. Pluriel de turbulence.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set turbulence and turbulences apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
turbulence
11 ch
turbulences

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. turbulence and turbulences are pronounced identically (\tyʁ.by.lɑ̃s\) 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) - “turbulence” sits inside “turbulences”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61147, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

turbulence is recorded at frequency rank #33,499, classified as anoun, pronounced \tyʁ.by.lɑ̃s\. turbulences is at rank #27,648, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tyʁ.by.lɑ̃s\.

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 61147, this pair ranks #93,833 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of turbulence vs turbulences

Shared letters: bcelnrtu. Private to "turbulence": -. Private to "turbulences": s.

"turbulence" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCV  ·  "turbulences" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • turbulencetrubulence · tturbulence · tubrulence · turbbulence · turbluence · turbuelnce · turbulecne · turbulencce
  • turbulencestrubulences · tturbulences · tubrulences · turbbulences · turbluences · turbuelnces · turbulecnes · turbulencces

Frequency comparison

turbulence#33,499
turbulences#27,648

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "turbulence" and "turbulences" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\tyʁ.by.lɑ̃s\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "turbulence" or "turbulences"?
"turbulences" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,648 in our French list, against #33,499 for "turbulence". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering turbulence vs turbulences

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 “turbulence” 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