approximation

/\a.pʁɔk.si.ma.sjɔ̃\/ noun

Letters

13 characters

Frequency Rank

#21,851

in French word usage

Misspellings

17

tracked variants

Confusables

3

similar word pairs

approximation is aFrenchnoun. It means: Estimation par à peu près, où l’on se contente d’approcher de la vérité sans s’attacher à une exactitude rigoureuse. Pronounced \a.pʁɔk.si.ma.sjɔ̃\. Often confused with approximative and approximations.

Key facts for approximation
PropertyValue
Headwordapproximation
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\a.pʁɔk.si.ma.sjɔ̃\
Letters13
Frequency rank#21,851
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of approximation in French word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for approximation is 13 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \a.pʁɔk.si.ma.sjɔ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #21,851 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 17 documented wrong-spelling variants for approximation, with forms such as "apporximation", "approixmation", and "approxiamtion". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "approximative", "approximations", "approximatif", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct French form is approximation, spelled A-P-P-R-O-X-I-M-A-T-I-O-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Estimation par à peu près, où l’on se contente d’approcher de la vérité sans s’attacher à une exactitude rigoureuse.
  2. 2
    Mode d’articulation consonantique caractérisé par un resserrement du canal vocal sans compression de l’air, de manière à ne produire aucune impression auditive de friction.
  3. 3
    Procédure permettant de calculer une valeur approchée d’un nombre, par exemple en arrondissant.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: apporximation,approixmation,approxiamtion,approximaiton,approximatino,approximationn,approximatoin,approximattion,approximmation,approximtaion,approxmiation,approxximation,apprroximation,apprxoimation,aproximation,aprpoximation,paproximation

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for approximation

Misspelling Variants of "approximation"

apporximation13approixmation13approxiamtion13approximaiton13approximatino13approximationn14approximatoin13approximattion14
Misspelling Variants of "approximation"

Frequency rank: #21,851 in French

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "approximation"?
"approximation" is spelled A-P-P-R-O-X-I-M-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \a.pʁɔk.si.ma.sjɔ̃\.
What does "approximation" mean?
As a noun, "approximation" means: Estimation par à peu près, où l’on se contente d’approcher de la vérité sans s’attacher à une exactitude rigoureuse.
What words are commonly confused with "approximation"?
"approximation" is commonly confused with "approximative", "approximations", "approximatif". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "approximation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "approximation" is \a.pʁɔk.si.ma.sjɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "approximation" come from?
"approximation" 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.

Nearby French words

Other entries that begin with the letter A in our French index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.