ultérieure vs ultérieures, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#16,504
“ultérieure” frequency rank: #21,802
“ultérieures” frequency rank: 38306
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	ultérieure	ultérieures
Definition	Féminin singulier de ultérieur.	Féminin pluriel de ultérieur.

Where the spellings diverge

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

10 ch

ultérieure

11 ch

ultérieures

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. ultérieure and ultérieures are pronounced identically (\yl.te.ʁjœʁ\) and both work as anadjective. 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) - “ultérieure” sits inside “ultérieures”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38306, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ultérieure is recorded at frequency rank #16,504, classified as anadj, pronounced \yl.te.ʁjœʁ\. ultérieures is at rank #21,802, tagged as anadj, pronounced \yl.te.ʁjœʁ\.

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 38306, this pair ranks #256,199 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ultérieure vs ultérieures

Shared letters: eilrtué. Private to "ultérieure": -. Private to "ultérieures": s.

"ultérieure" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVVVCV · "ultérieures" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCVVVCVC

Frequency comparison

ultérieure#16,504

ultérieures#21,802

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ultérieure" and "ultérieures" be used interchangeably?

No. They are pronounced the same (\yl.te.ʁjœʁ\), 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, "ultérieure" or "ultérieures"?

"ultérieure" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,504 in our French list, against #21,802 for "ultérieures". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ultérieure vs ultérieures

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 “ultérieure” entry
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