affreux
"affreux" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“affreux” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A group of particularly brutal mercenaries who were active in Africa and Asia during the 1960s.
Corpus desk
Index EN-affreux · affreux · English
affreux · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "A" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | affreux |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “affreux” in English
Rare enough to double-check
affreux is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A group of particularly brutal mercenaries who were active in Africa and Asia during the 1960s.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for affreux, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French affreux. The correct English form is affreux, spelled A-F-F-R-E-U-X.
Definition
- 1A group of particularly brutal mercenaries who were active in Africa and Asia during the 1960s.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how affreux appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
As one Belgian journalist wrote: The affreux ["frightful ones"] are outstanding in combat.
I could no longer find anything affected in that long smooth white face but an extreme kindness and a sort of obstinate candour; Vian was as Herv in his detestation of the affreux [the frightful ones] as in loving what he loved.
Etymology
From French affreux.
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.