défection

/\de.fɛk.sjɔ̃\/ noun

Letters

9 characters

Frequency Rank

#23,525

in French word usage

Misspellings

14

tracked variants

Confusables

9

similar word pairs

défection is aFrenchnoun. It means: Fait d’abandonner un organisme auquel on était lié. Pronounced \de.fɛk.sjɔ̃\. Often confused with direction and détention.

Key facts for défection
PropertyValue
Headworddéfection
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\de.fɛk.sjɔ̃\
Letters9
Frequency rank#23,525
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

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

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for défection is 9 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \de.fɛk.sjɔ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #23,525 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 14 documented wrong-spelling variants for défection, with forms such as "ddéfection", "defection", and "dféection". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 9 confusable-pair relationships, "direction", "détention", "détection", 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 défection, spelled D-É-F-E-C-T-I-O-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Fait d’abandonner un organisme auquel on était lié.
  2. 2
    Action d'un agent d'un service de renseignement qui change de camp mais qui n'implique pas nécessairement la trahison (un agent faisant défection ne livre pas nécessairement de renseignements).
  3. 3
    Fait d’abandonner une croyance, une opinion à laquelle on était attaché.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ddéfection,defection,dféection,déefction,défcetion,défecction,défeciton,défectino,défectionn,défectoin,défecttion,défetcion,déffection,édfection

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for défection

Misspelling Variants of "défection"

ddéfection10defection9dféection9déefction9défcetion9défecction10défeciton9défectino9
Misspelling Variants of "défection"

Frequency rank: #23,525 in French

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "défection"?
"défection" is spelled D-É-F-E-C-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \de.fɛk.sjɔ̃\.
What does "défection" mean?
As a noun, "défection" means: Fait d’abandonner un organisme auquel on était lié.
What words are commonly confused with "défection"?
"défection" is commonly confused with "direction", "détention", "détection". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "défection"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "défection" is \de.fɛk.sjɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "défection" come from?
"défection" 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. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.