d’aplomb
\d‿a.plɔ̃\
The verdict
“d’aplomb” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as an adverb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Suivant la verticale.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | d’aplomb |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | \d‿a.plɔ̃\ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “d’aplomb” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for d’aplomb is 8 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \d‿a.plɔ̃\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for d’aplomb, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is d’aplomb, spelled D-’-A-P-L-O-M-B.
Definition
- 1Suivant la verticale.
- 2Droit et debout, en équilibre stable.
- 3En bon état physique et moral.
- 4Se dit d’un meuble posé verticalement alors qu’il devrait être incliné pour suivre l’orientation de la pièce qui le porte. S’applique également aux meubles représentés verticaux alors que la position habituelle est d’être inclinée.
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
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Using “d’aplomb”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is D-’-A-P-L-O-M-B - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \d‿a.plɔ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.