détente
/deɪˈtɒnt/
"detente" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“détente” is an uncommon English word, ranked #69,016 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #69,016
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A relaxing of tension, especially between countries.
| 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) |
Where “détente” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for détente is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /deɪˈtɒnt/. Corpus data places it at rank #69,016 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "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.
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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Using “détente”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-É-T-E-N-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /deɪˈtɒnt/ (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.