centripète

\sɑ̃.tʁi.pɛt\

/\sɑ̃.tʁi.pɛt\/ adj

The verdict

“centripète” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Qui tend à approcher d’un centre.

Corpus desk

Index FR-centripete · centripète · French

centripète · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 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.

Key facts for centripète
PropertyValue
Headwordcentripète
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\sɑ̃.tʁi.pɛt\
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « centripète » en français

centripètesiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

centripète is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \sɑ̃.tʁi.pɛt\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for centripète in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, 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 centripète, spelled C-E-N-T-R-I-P-È-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui tend à approcher d’un centre.
  2. 2
    Qualifie les plantes qui se multiplient vers le centre de leur groupement.
  3. 3
    Qui s’épanouit d’abord à sa base et plus tard à son sommet.
  4. 4
    Qualifie l’influx nerveux qui est transmis de la périphérie vers un centre nerveux.
  5. 5
    Plaçant un modificateur devant un noyau.
  6. 6
    Qui se dirige vers un centre économique ou politique.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how centripète appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Un corps libre qui se meut circulairement est retenu dans son orbite par une force centripète.
  2. L’endroit faisait jeune. La gaîté y fusait de toutes parts, juteuse, nouvelle, centripète, et Paris de rappliquer.

Synonyms

axipète

Antonyms

axifugecentrifuge

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "centripète"?
"centripète" is spelled C-E-N-T-R-I-P-È-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is \sɑ̃.tʁi.pɛt\.
What does "centripète" mean?
As an adjective, "centripète" means: Qui tend à approcher d’un centre.
How do you pronounce "centripète"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "centripète" is \sɑ̃.tʁi.pɛt\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "centripète" come from?
"centripète" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list