détente
/deɪˈtɒnt/
"detente" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“détente” is uncommon English (frequency #69,016 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #69,016
- frequency rank, English
- 3,470
- “D” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A relaxing of tension, especially between countries.
Corpus desk
Index EN-detente · détente · English
détente · rank #69,016 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #69,016
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,470
- PHOTO-FINISH echidna
Nearest frequency peer: echidna (+2 rank slots)
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.
Long-tail ranks near “détente”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- dreamcatcher
dreamcatcher
30,991 corpus weight
- druggie
druggie
30,990 corpus weight
- détente
détente
30,985 corpus weight
- echidna
echidna
30,983 corpus weight
- editable
editable
30,981 corpus weight
- Edom
Edom
30,980 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “détente” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | détente |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /deɪˈtɒnt/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #69,016 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “détente” in English
Rare enough to double-check
détente is uncommon English at frequency #69,016 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /deɪˈtɒnt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A relaxing of tension, especially between countries.".
détente has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Unadapted borrowing from French détente (“relaxing”). The correct English form is détente, spelled D-É-T-E-N-T-E.
Definition
- 1A relaxing of tension, especially between countries.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how détente appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Analogous structural and political constraints stood in the way of a lasting détente between Germany and Britain.
No step the United States could take anywhere in the world would bring strategic benefits as great as detente with Iran.
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from French détente (“relaxing”).
Antonyms
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); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "détente", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).