vigilantevsvigilantsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#34,803
“vigilante” frequency rank
#23,414
“vigilants” frequency rank
58217
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vigilante vigilants
Definition Féminin singulier de vigilant. Masculin pluriel de vigilant.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vigilante and vigilants apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
vigilante
9 ch
vigilants

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. vigilante (\vi.ʒi.lɑ̃t\) and vigilants (\vi.ʒi.lɑ̃\) 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 a single letter - e in “vigilante” becomes s in “vigilants”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58217, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vigilante is recorded at frequency rank #34,803, classified as anadj, pronounced \vi.ʒi.lɑ̃t\. vigilants is at rank #23,414, tagged as anadj, pronounced \vi.ʒi.lɑ̃\.

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 58217, this pair ranks #110,343 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of vigilante vs vigilants

Shared letters: agilntv. Private to "vigilante": e. Private to "vigilants": s.

"vigilante" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCCV  ·  "vigilants" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vigilanteivgilante · vgiilante · viggilante · vigialnte · vigilanet · vigilannte · vigilantte · vigilatne
  • vigilantsivgilants · vgiilants · viggilants · vigialnts · vigilannts · vigilanst · vigilantss · vigilantts

Frequency comparison

vigilante#34,803
vigilants#23,414

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vigilante" and "vigilants" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\vi.ʒi.lɑ̃t\ versus \vi.ʒi.lɑ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vigilante" or "vigilants"?
"vigilants" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,414 in our French list, against #34,803 for "vigilante". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vigilante vs vigilants

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 “vigilante” 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