danse macabre
/dɑns məˈkɑb(ɹə)/
"danse-macabre" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“danse macabre” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A conventional subject in art, literature and drama, or a particular work in that style, in which death (in the form of a putrid corpse, skeleton, the Grim Reaper, etc) is shown leading people to t...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | danse macabre |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /dɑns məˈkɑb(ɹə)/ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “danse macabre” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
danse macabre is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /dɑns məˈkɑb(ɹə)/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A conventional subject in art, literature and drama, or a particular work in that style, in which death (in the form of a putrid corpse, skeleton, the Grim Reaper, etc) is shown leading people to t...".
danse macabre doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French danse macabre. The correct English form is danse macabre, spelled D-A-N-S-E- -M-A-C-A-B-R-E.
Definition
- 1A conventional subject in art, literature and drama, or a particular work in that style, in which death (in the form of a putrid corpse, skeleton, the Grim Reaper, etc) is shown leading people to the grave.
Etymology
Borrowed from French danse macabre.
Synonyms
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
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Using “danse macabre”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-A-N-S-E- -M-A-C-A-B-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /dɑns məˈkɑb(ɹə)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.