Attrition

[atʁiˈt͡si̯oːn]

/[atʁiˈt͡si̯oːn]/ noun

The verdict

“Attrition” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Linguistik: Beeinträchtigung der Beherrschung der Muttersprache beim Erwerb einer weiteren Sprache

Corpus desk

Index DE-attrition · Attrition · German

Attrition · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for Attrition
PropertyValue
HeadwordAttrition
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[atʁiˈt͡si̯oːn]
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „Attrition“ im Deutschen

Attritionsitzt jenseits der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Formen, im Schwanz spezialisierten oder seltenen Wortschatzes.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Attrition is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed [atʁiˈt͡si̯oːn]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for Attrition in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is Attrition, spelled A-T-T-R-I-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Linguistik: Beeinträchtigung der Beherrschung der Muttersprache beim Erwerb einer weiteren Sprache
  2. 2
    unvollkommene Reue

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how Attrition appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. „Attrition bedeutet also nicht, dass eine Sprache verlernt wird, sondern ist eher das Ergebnis eines Ringens zweier Konkurrenten um die Vorherrschaft.“

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Attrition"?
"Attrition" is spelled A-T-T-R-I-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is [atʁiˈt͡si̯oːn].
What does "Attrition" mean?
As a noun, "Attrition" means: Linguistik: Beeinträchtigung der Beherrschung der Muttersprache beim Erwerb einer weiteren Sprache
How do you pronounce "Attrition"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Attrition" is [atʁiˈt͡si̯oːn]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Attrition" come from?
"Attrition" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list