cynique

\si.nik\

/\si.nik\/ adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“cynique” has 10 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #15,847. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,847
frequency rank, French
8,609
“C” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
12
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Qui a rapport au chien.

Corpus desk

Index FR-cynique · cynique · French

cynique · rank #15,847 · 10 variants · 12 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,847
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 12 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,609
  • PHOTO-FINISH diaspora

Nearest frequency peer: diaspora (+2 rank slots)

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.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « cynique »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « cynique » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

cynique vs cynisme
71% similar
cynique vs cyniques
88% similar
cynique vs clique
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for cynique
PropertyValue
Headwordcynique
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\si.nik\
Letters7
Frequency rank#15,847
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs12
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « cynique »

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).cyniquese place ici:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

L'échelle est logarithmique (chaque tic ≈ 10× plus rare). Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « diaspora » (#15,849), « croate » (#15,844), « disparues » (#15,850). Parmi 8,609 lemmes en « C », « cynique » est au #15,847. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around cynique (IPA \si.nik\), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #15,847 among 8,609 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for cynique, with forms such as "ccynique", "cnyique", and "cyinque". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "cynisme", "cyniques", "clique", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is cynique, spelled C-Y-N-I-Q-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui a rapport au chien.
  2. 2
    Relatif aux cyniques, à leur philosophie matérialiste et anticonformiste.
  3. 3
    Qui affecte une impudence effrontée, notamment en raison d'un refus de l'hypocrisie ou d'un désabusement.
  4. 4
    Qui est désabusé, désillusionné ou qui accuse un désintérêt blasé à l'égard de quelque chose.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Spasmes cyniques, contraction des muscles des angles des lèvres qui donne un rictus canin.
  2. Le philosophe cynique est porteur d'une intraitable volonté de dire non, de débusquer le conformisme à travers les habitudes.

This word in other languages

canine(English)zynisch(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccynique
  • cnyique
  • cyinque
  • cyniqeu
  • cyniqque
  • cyniuqe
  • cynnique
  • cynqiue
  • cyynique
  • ycnique

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cynique - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ccynique1cnyique2cyinque2cyniqeu2cyniqque1cyniuqe2cynnique1cynqiue2
Edit distance from "cynique"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cynique"?
"cynique" is spelled C-Y-N-I-Q-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is \si.nik\.
What does "cynique" mean?
As an adjective, "cynique" means: Qui a rapport au chien.
What words are commonly confused with "cynique"?
"cynique" is commonly confused with "cynisme", "cyniques", "clique". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cynique"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cynique" is \si.nik\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "cynique" come from?
"cynique" 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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cynique", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

distant#15,852dormait#15,855déborde#15,859démolir#15,861

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

booster10 variantsBernier10 variantsbeautés10 variantsGervais10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list