décret

\de.kʁɛ\

/\de.kʁɛ\/ noun

The verdict

“décret” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #2,669 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#2,669
frequency rank, French
6
letters
10
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Décision qui émane d’une autorité.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

décret vs degré
33% similar
décret vs déçue
50% similar
décret vs derek
50% similar

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

Key facts for décret
PropertyValue
Headworddécret
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\de.kʁɛ\
Letters6
Frequency rank#2,669
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “décret” 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). décret lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for décret is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \de.kʁɛ\. Corpus data places it at rank #2,669 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for décret, with forms such as "dcéret", "ddécret", and "decret". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "degré", "déçue", "derek", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is décret, spelled D-É-C-R-E-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Décision qui émane d’une autorité.
  2. 2
    (surtout au pluriel) Volonté de Dieu, arrêts du sort, du destin.
  3. 3
    Aujourd’hui, décision prise par le chef de l’État, le gouvernement ou le conseil des ministres.
  4. 4
    Acte législatif pris par une des entités fédérées (communauté linguistique ou région), excepté la région de Bruxelles-Capitale.
  5. 5
    Décision rendue par l’empereur à propos d’un cas particulier.
  6. 6
    Recueil de textes de droit canonique, en particulier d’anciens canons des conciles, de constitutions des papes et de sentences des pères de l’Église.
  7. 7
    En particulier, le décret de Gratien.
  8. 8
    Le droit canonique lui-même.
  9. 9
    Acte exécutif pris par le pape ou par une autorité ecclésiastique ayant le pouvoir exécutif.
  10. 10
    Sous l’ancien droit, acte de procédure pénale.
  11. 11
    Sous la Révolution française, texte adopté par l’Assemblée nationale.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: dcéret,ddécret,decret,déccret,décert,décrett,décrret,décrte,dércet,édcret

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of décret - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

dcéret2ddécret1decret1déccret1décert2décrett1décrret1décrte2
Edit distance from "décret"

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 "décret"?
"décret" is spelled D-É-C-R-E-T. The IPA pronunciation is \de.kʁɛ\.
What does "décret" mean?
As a noun, "décret" means: Décision qui émane d’une autorité.
What words are commonly confused with "décret"?
"décret" is commonly confused with "degré", "déçue", "derek". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "décret"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "décret" is \de.kʁɛ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "décret" come from?
"décret" 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 “décret”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is D-É-C-R-E-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \de.kʁɛ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “degré” - see the side-by-side comparison. décret vs degré
  • 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.

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

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