convoluté

\kɔ̃.vɔ.ly.tɛ\

/\kɔ̃.vɔ.ly.tɛ\/ adj

The verdict

“convoluté” 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 est roulé en cornet autour d’un corps ou sur lui-même.

Corpus desk

Index FR-convolute · convoluté · French

convoluté · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 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 convoluté
PropertyValue
Headwordconvoluté
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\kɔ̃.vɔ.ly.tɛ\
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « convoluté » en français

convolutéreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

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

Rare enough to double-check

convoluté is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \kɔ̃.vɔ.ly.tɛ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for convoluté, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, 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 convoluté, spelled C-O-N-V-O-L-U-T-É.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui est roulé en cornet autour d’un corps ou sur lui-même.
  2. 2
    Alambiqué.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Leurs ovules dont le nombre varie de deux à cinq portant sont suspendus après un long funicule; et leur fruits ligneux allongés, portant a sur ses bords les traces des deux bractéoles latérales de la fleur, soulevées sur les côtés du réceptacle, contient une graine linéaire dont l’embryon a les cotylédons convolutés.
  2. La concavité illuminée de son oreille […], un réceptacle convoluté qui semblait beaucoup trop vaste pour y déposer mes peccadilles […].

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 "convoluté"?
"convoluté" is spelled C-O-N-V-O-L-U-T-É. The IPA pronunciation is \kɔ̃.vɔ.ly.tɛ\.
What does "convoluté" mean?
As an adjective, "convoluté" means: Qui est roulé en cornet autour d’un corps ou sur lui-même.
How do you pronounce "convoluté"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "convoluté" is \kɔ̃.vɔ.ly.tɛ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "convoluté" come from?
"convoluté" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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