j'accuse

/ʒəˈkjuːz/

//ʒəˈkjuːz// noun

"j-accuse" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An accusation, especially one made publicly.

Corpus desk

Index EN-j-accuse · j'accuse · English

j'accuse · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "J" 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.

Key facts for j'accuse
PropertyValue
Headwordj'accuse
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ʒəˈkjuːz/
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “j'accuse” in English

j'accusesits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

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

Rare enough to double-check

j'accuse is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ʒəˈkjuːz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An accusation, especially one made publicly.".

No misspelling variants are generated for j'accuse in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowing from French J'Accuse ("I accuse"), the title of an 1898 open letter from writer Emile Zola to the president of France during the Dreyfus Affair. The correct English form is j'accuse, spelled J-'-A-C-C-U-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An accusation, especially one made publicly.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. It was a rare combination of circumstances that led Cramer to agree to sit still and listen to Stewart engage in his j'accuse.
  2. Buried within Dudley's petition, then, was a veiled ‘j'accuse’.

Etymology

Borrowing from French J'Accuse ("I accuse"), the title of an 1898 open letter from writer Emile Zola to the president of France during the Dreyfus Affair.

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 "j'accuse"?
"j'accuse" is spelled J-'-A-C-C-U-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ʒəˈkjuːz/.
What does "j'accuse" mean?
As a noun, "j'accuse" means: An accusation, especially one made publicly.
How do you pronounce "j'accuse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "j'accuse" is /ʒəˈkjuːz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "j'accuse"?
Borrowing from French J'Accuse ("I accuse"), the title of an 1898 open letter from writer Emile Zola to the president of France during the Dreyfus Affair. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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