décliner

\de.kli.ne\

/\de.kli.ne\/ verb

The verdict

“décliner” has 13 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #18,724. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,724
frequency rank, French
404,891
“D” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
13
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Pencher vers sa fin ; s’affaiblir, en parlant des choses.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

décliner vs délier
75% similar
décliner vs deviner
63% similar
décliner vs délirer
75% similar

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

Key facts for décliner
PropertyValue
Headworddécliner
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\de.kli.ne\
Letters8
Frequency rank#18,724
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs13
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “décliner” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). décliner lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around décliner (IPA \de.kli.ne\), averb. Corpus frequency is #18,724 among 404,891 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for décliner, with forms such as "dcéliner", "ddécliner", and "decliner". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 13 confusable-pair relationships, "délier", "deviner", "délirer", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is décliner, spelled D-É-C-L-I-N-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pencher vers sa fin ; s’affaiblir, en parlant des choses.
  2. 2
    Subir, soit de la diminution des forces physiques, soit de l’affaiblissement des facultés intellectuelles, et quelquefois de l’une et de l’autre en même temps, en parlant des personnes.
  3. 3
    S’écarter d’une direction ou d’un point fixe.
  4. 4
    S’éloigner de l’équateur, en parlant d'un astre.
  5. 5
    S’écarter du nord vrai, en parlant de l'aiguille aimantée d'une boussole.
  6. 6
    Ne pas regarder directement celui des points cardinaux vers lequel il est tourné, en parlant d'un plan vertical.
  7. 7
    Écarter comme inacceptable.
  8. 8
    Refuser une proposition , une responsabilité, etc.
  9. 9
    Faire passer un nom, un pronom, un adjectif, par tous ses cas.
  10. 10
    Dire son état civil, afin de faire savoir qui l’on est, afin de se faire connaître.
  11. 11
    S’énoncer en plusieurs variantes, en sous-classes, etc.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • dcéliner
  • ddécliner
  • decliner
  • déccliner
  • décilner
  • déclienr
  • déclinerr
  • déclinner
  • déclinre
  • déclliner
  • déclnier
  • délciner
  • édcliner

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

dcéliner2ddécliner1decliner1déccliner1décilner2déclienr2déclinerr1déclinner1
Edit distance from "décliner"

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 "décliner"?
"décliner" is spelled D-É-C-L-I-N-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \de.kli.ne\.
What does "décliner" mean?
As a verb, "décliner" means: Pencher vers sa fin ; s’affaiblir, en parlant des choses.
What words are commonly confused with "décliner"?
"décliner" is commonly confused with "délier", "deviner", "délirer". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "décliner"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "décliner" is \de.kli.ne\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "décliner" come from?
"décliner" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

Using “décliner”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is D-É-C-L-I-N-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \de.kli.ne\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “délier” - see the side-by-side comparison. décliner vs délier
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Same frequency band

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list