adopter

\a.dɔp.te\

/\a.dɔp.te\/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“adopter” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #3,891 in French word frequency and used as a verb.

#3,891
frequency rank, French
7
letters
10
tracked misspellings
17
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Choisir quelqu’un pour fils ou pour fille et lui en donner les droits civils en remplissant certaines conditions prescrites par la loi.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

adopter vs adorer
71% similar
adopter vs ajouter
71% similar
adopter vs adoptés
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for adopter
PropertyValue
Headwordadopter
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\a.dɔp.te\
Letters7
Frequency rank#3,891
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs17
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “adopter” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). adopter lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for adopter is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \a.dɔp.te\. Corpus data places it at rank #3,891 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for adopter, with forms such as "addopter", "adopetr", and "adoppter". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 17 confusable-pair relationships, "adorer", "ajouter", "adoptés", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is adopter, spelled A-D-O-P-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Choisir quelqu’un pour fils ou pour fille et lui en donner les droits civils en remplissant certaines conditions prescrites par la loi.
  2. 2
    Prendre soin d’un enfant – sans formes légales – comme si c’était son fils ou sa fille.
  3. 3
    Admettre, accepter, recevoir comme sien un sentiment, un avis, un projet.
  4. 4
    Voter un texte.
  5. 5
    Choisir de préférence un genre de travail, une manière de faire quelque chose.

Antonyms

abandonner

This word in other languages

adopt(English)adoptar(Español)adoptieren(Deutsch)aceitar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: addopter,adopetr,adoppter,adopterr,adoptre,adoptter,adotper,adpoter,aodpter,daopter

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of adopter - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

addopter1adopetr2adoppter1adopterr1adoptre2adoptter1adotper2adpoter2
Edit distance from "adopter"

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "adopter"?
"adopter" is spelled A-D-O-P-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \a.dɔp.te\.
What does "adopter" mean?
As a verb, "adopter" means: Choisir quelqu’un pour fils ou pour fille et lui en donner les droits civils en remplissant certaines conditions prescrites par la loi.
What words are commonly confused with "adopter"?
"adopter" is commonly confused with "adorer", "ajouter", "adoptés". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "adopter"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "adopter" is \a.dɔp.te\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "adopter" come from?
"adopter" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Using “adopter”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is A-D-O-P-T-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \a.dɔp.te\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “adorer” - see the side-by-side comparison. adopter vs adorer
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French 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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list