affectation

\a.fɛk.ta.sjɔ̃\

/\a.fɛk.ta.sjɔ̃\/ noun

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

The verdict

“affectation” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #12,708 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#12,708
frequency rank, French
11
letters
14
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Destination, application d’une chose à un certain usage.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

affectation vs affection
82% similar
affectation vs affectations
92% similar

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

Key facts for affectation
PropertyValue
Headwordaffectation
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\a.fɛk.ta.sjɔ̃\
Letters11
Frequency rank#12,708
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “affectation” 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). affectation 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 affectation is 11 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \a.fɛk.ta.sjɔ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #12,708 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for affectation, with forms such as "afectation", "afefctation", and "affcetation". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "affection", "affectations", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is affectation, spelled A-F-F-E-C-T-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Destination, application d’une chose à un certain usage.
  2. 2
    Action d’assigner un poste ; ce poste lui-même.
  3. 3
    Action de doter une grandeur d’un signe qui en modifie la valeur.
  4. 4
    Acte ou fait ayant pour conséquence d’incorporer un bien au domaine public.
  5. 5
    Attribution d’une valeur à une variable.
  6. 6
    Dans une forêt traitée en futaie régulière, surface qui doit être régénérée pendant un temps déterminé, appelé période.
  7. 7
    Action de feindre ou d’exagérer certains sentiments et certaines qualités.
  8. 8
    Manière de parler et d’agir qui s’éloigne du naturel.

This word in other languages

posting(English)afectación(Español)Vortäuschung(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: afectation,afefctation,affcetation,affecattion,affecctation,affectaiton,affectatino,affectationn,affectatoin,affectattion,affecttaion,affecttation,affetcation,fafectation

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of affectation - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

afectation1afefctation2affcetation2affecattion2affecctation1affectaiton2affectatino2affectationn1
Edit distance from "affectation"

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 "affectation"?
"affectation" is spelled A-F-F-E-C-T-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \a.fɛk.ta.sjɔ̃\.
What does "affectation" mean?
As a noun, "affectation" means: Destination, application d’une chose à un certain usage.
What words are commonly confused with "affectation"?
"affectation" is commonly confused with "affection", "affectations". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "affectation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "affectation" is \a.fɛk.ta.sjɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "affectation" come from?
"affectation" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “affectation”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is A-F-F-E-C-T-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \a.fɛk.ta.sjɔ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “affection” - see the side-by-side comparison. affectation vs affection
  • 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