cauteleux
\ko.tlø\
The verdict
“cauteleux” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Qui agit d’une façon détournée et sournoise.
Corpus desk
Index FR-cauteleux · cauteleux · French
cauteleux · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "C" 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cauteleux |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | \ko.tlø\ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « cauteleux » en français
Rare enough to double-check
cauteleux is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \ko.tlø\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Qui agit d’une façon détournée et sournoise.".
cauteleux has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is cauteleux, spelled C-A-U-T-E-L-E-U-X.
Definition
- 1Qui agit d’une façon détournée et sournoise.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how cauteleux appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Aujourd’hui les homélies misérables d’un vieillard cauteleux, ennemi de la République,[…],ont servi de texte à de nouvelles inculpations ; […] .
Dans une chambre au troisième étage d’un hôtel de la rue du Bouloi, Lucien, dont le cœur battait et qui était à la recherche d’un héros, trouva un homme à la taille épaisse et à l’œil cauteleux, lequel portait de gros favoris blonds, peignés avec soin et étalés sur la joue.
This word in other languages
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.