défaire

/\de.fɛʁ\/ verb

Letters

7 characters

Frequency Rank

#10,691

in French word usage

Misspellings

10

tracked variants

Confusables

16

similar word pairs

défaire is aFrenchverb. It means: Modifier l’état d’une chose de manière qu’elle ne soit plus ce qu’elle était. Pronounced \de.fɛʁ\. Often confused with défie and défilé.

Key facts for défaire
PropertyValue
Headworddéfaire
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\de.fɛʁ\
Letters7
Frequency rank#10,691
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs16
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of défaire in French word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for défaire is 7 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \de.fɛʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #10,691 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 13 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 défaire, with forms such as "ddéfaire", "defaire", and "dféaire". 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 16 confusable-pair relationships, "défie", "défilé", "défait", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct French form is défaire, spelled D-É-F-A-I-R-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Modifier l’état d’une chose de manière qu’elle ne soit plus ce qu’elle était.
  2. 2
    Vider des effets qui s’y trouvent, en parlant de colis ou de paquets.
  3. 3
    Ôter, déboutonner, dénouer en parlant de vêtements.
  4. 4
    Revenir en arrière ; rebrousser chemin.
  5. 5
    Mettre en déroute.
  6. 6
    Faire perdre ; faire échouer.
  7. 7
    Annuler.
  8. 8
    Se délivrer, se débarrasser d’une personne ou d’une chose, en particulier d'un vêtement; se déshabiller.
  9. 9
    Congédier, licencier.
  10. 10
    Faire mourir.
  11. 11
    Se suicider.
  12. 12
    Aliéner, en parlant d’une chose ; en transporter le droit et la possession à un autre.
  13. 13
    Passer, s'écouler, se succéder.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ddéfaire,defaire,dféaire,déafire,défaier,défairre,défarie,déffaire,défiare,édfaire

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for défaire

Misspelling Variants of "défaire"

ddéfaire8defaire7dféaire7déafire7défaier7défairre8défarie7déffaire8
Misspelling Variants of "défaire"

Frequency rank: #10,691 in French

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "défaire"?
"défaire" is spelled D-É-F-A-I-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \de.fɛʁ\.
What does "défaire" mean?
As a verb, "défaire" means: Modifier l’état d’une chose de manière qu’elle ne soit plus ce qu’elle était.
What words are commonly confused with "défaire"?
"défaire" is commonly confused with "défie", "défilé", "défait". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "défaire"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "défaire" is \de.fɛʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "défaire" come from?
"défaire" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Nearby French words

Other entries that begin with the letter D in our French index:

Explore PlainSpell

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.