à la dérobade

\a la de.ʁɔ.bad\

/\a la de.ʁɔ.bad\/ adv

The verdict

“à la dérobade” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Subrepticement, sans se faire voir.

Corpus desk

Index FR-a-la-derobade · à la dérobade · French

à la dérobade · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "À" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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 à la dérobade
PropertyValue
Headwordà la dérobade
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\a la de.ʁɔ.bad\
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « à la dérobade » en français

à la dérobadesiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

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

Rare enough to double-check

à la dérobade is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \a la de.ʁɔ.bad\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Subrepticement, sans se faire voir.".

No misspelling variants are generated for à la dérobade in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is à la dérobade, spelled À- -L-A- -D-É-R-O-B-A-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Subrepticement, sans se faire voir.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how à la dérobade appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Tout en jouant son rôle, elle tournait à la dérobade les yeux vers la loge où trônait, avec l’orgueil dédaigneux et tranquille d’une perfection sûre d’elle-même, l’altière beauté que, dans son humilité, elle n’osait appeler sa rivale.

Synonyms

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 "à la dérobade"?
"à la dérobade" is spelled À- -L-A- -D-É-R-O-B-A-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is \a la de.ʁɔ.bad\.
What does "à la dérobade" mean?
As an adverb, "à la dérobade" means: Subrepticement, sans se faire voir.
How do you pronounce "à la dérobade"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "à la dérobade" is \a la de.ʁɔ.bad\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "à la dérobade" come from?
"à la dérobade" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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