négligée

/ˈnɛɡlɪʒeɪ/

//ˈnɛɡlɪʒeɪ// adj

"negligee" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“négligée” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. 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) - Carelessly or unceremoniously dressed.

Corpus desk

Index EN-negligee · négligée · English

négligée · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "N" 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 négligée
PropertyValue
Headwordnégligée
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈnɛɡlɪʒeɪ/
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “négligée” in English

négligéeranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

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

Rare enough to double-check

négligée is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈnɛɡlɪʒeɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for négligée, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French négligée f (past participle, adjective), from French négligé m (“underdressed; loose garment”, past participle, adjective, noun), past participle of négliger (“to neglect”), from Latin negligere. The correct English form is négligée, spelled N-É-G-L-I-G-É-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Carelessly or unceremoniously dressed.
  2. 2
    In the style of a negligee; revealing, titillating.

Etymology

From French négligée f (past participle, adjective), from French négligé m (“underdressed; loose garment”, past participle, adjective, noun), past participle of négliger (“to neglect”), from Latin negligere.

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 "négligée"?
"négligée" is spelled N-É-G-L-I-G-É-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnɛɡlɪʒeɪ/.
What does "négligée" mean?
As an adjective, "négligée" means: Carelessly or unceremoniously dressed.
How do you pronounce "négligée"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "négligée" is /ˈnɛɡlɪʒeɪ/. 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 "négligée"?
From French négligée f (past participle, adjective), from French négligé m (“underdressed; loose garment”, past participle, adjective, noun), past participle of négliger (“to neglect”), from Latin negligere. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list