Which to use
“vigilance” is a noun and “vigilante” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,251
- “vigilance” frequency rank
- #34,803
- “vigilante” frequency rank
- 44054
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vigilance | vigilante |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Attention que l’on porte avec diligence, avec activité, sur quelque chose ou sur quelqu’un. | Féminin singulier de vigilant. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vigilance and vigilante apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vigilance is \vi.ʒi.lɑ̃s\ while vigilante is \vi.ʒi.lɑ̃t\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - c in “vigilance” becomes t in “vigilante”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44054, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vigilance is recorded at frequency rank #9,251, classified as anoun, pronounced \vi.ʒi.lɑ̃s\. vigilante is at rank #34,803, tagged as anadj, pronounced \vi.ʒi.lɑ̃t\.
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 44054, this pair ranks #213,399 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vigilance vs vigilante
Shared letters: aegilnv. Private to "vigilance": c. Private to "vigilante": t.
"vigilance" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCCV · "vigilante" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "vigilance" and "vigilante" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "vigilance" or "vigilante"?
Remembering vigilance vs vigilante
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “vigilance”; for an adjective, it's “vigilante”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “vigilance” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable