attente
French, noun
attente is spelled A-T-T-E-N-T-E (7 letters) and appears 33 times per million words in written French, the 2,473rd most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Attente is a French feminine noun meaning “wait (the time that one is waiting or the state of waiting)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With an accent, attenté is a different word: “past participle of attenter”. The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “État de la personne qui attend, ou temps pendant lequel on attend”.
What does attente mean in English?
noun
- 1
femininewait (the time that one is waiting or the state of waiting)
file d'attente
- 2
feminineexpectation (act or state of expecting)
contre toute attente
- 3
feminineshoulder strap insignia
verb
- 1
past participle of attenter
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. État de la personne qui attend, ou temps pendant lequel on attend. 2. Espérance, opinion qu’on a conçue de quelqu’un, de quelque chose. 3. Chose qu’on ne regarde que comme un commencement. 4. Action de compter sur quelqu’un, sur quelque chose, une espérance, une prévision (répondre à l’attente de ses amis, contre toute attente).
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of attente
- attentes plural
- attentée feminine
- attentés masculine plural
- attentées feminine plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to attente
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is attente in French?
attente appears 33 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).