défendre

/\de.fɑ̃dʁ\/ verb

Letters

8 characters

Frequency Rank

#1,660

in French word usage

Misspellings

13

tracked variants

Confusables

19

similar word pairs

défendre is aFrenchverb. It means: Protéger, soutenir, quelqu'un ou quelque chose contre une attaque, une agression. Pronounced \de.fɑ̃dʁ\. It ranks #1,660 in French word frequency. Often confused with déféré and défense.

Key facts for défendre
PropertyValue
Headworddéfendre
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\de.fɑ̃dʁ\
Letters8
Frequency rank#1,660
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs19
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for défendre is 8 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \de.fɑ̃dʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #1,660 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 16 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for défendre, with forms such as "ddéfendre", "defendre", and "dféendre". 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 19 confusable-pair relationships, "déféré", "défense", "défendu", 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 défendre, spelled D-É-F-E-N-D-R-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Protéger, soutenir, quelqu'un ou quelque chose contre une attaque, une agression.
  2. 2
    Résister à ceux qui veulent se rendre maîtres d’une position militaire, s’opposer aux ennemis qui l’attaquent.
  3. 3
    Empêcher que l’ennemi ne puisse, sans risquer beaucoup, entrer dans un lieu ou en approcher.
  4. 4
    Garantir, tant au sens propre qu’au sens figuré.
  5. 5
    Soutenir l’innocence de quelqu’un contre ceux qui l’accusent.
  6. 6
    Fournir des défenses aux demandes de la partie adverse.
  7. 7
    Prohiber, interdire quelque chose.
  8. 8
    Empêcher un opposant de marquer un but.
  9. 9
    Repousser une attaque, une agression quelconque, y résister.
  10. 10
    Résister aux atteintes de la maladie, de l’âge, etc.
  11. 11
    Faire preuve de qualités, de compétences, réussir dans un domaine.
  12. 12
    Gagner de l’argent, exercer une activité rentable.
  13. 13
    Se prostituer.
  14. 14
    Se disculper, nier quelque chose qu’on vous reproche.
  15. 15
    S’excuser de faire quelque chose à quoi on voudrait vous obliger.
  16. 16
    S'empêcher, s'interdire.

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ddéfendre,defendre,dféendre,déefndre,défednre,défenddre,défender,défendrre,défenndre,défenrde,déffendre,défnedre,édfendre

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for défendre

Misspelling Variants of "défendre"

ddéfendre9defendre8dféendre8déefndre8défednre8défenddre9défender8défendrre9
Misspelling Variants of "défendre"

Frequency rank: #1,660 in French

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "défendre"?
"défendre" is spelled D-É-F-E-N-D-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \de.fɑ̃dʁ\.
What does "défendre" mean?
As a verb, "défendre" means: Protéger, soutenir, quelqu'un ou quelque chose contre une attaque, une agression.
What words are commonly confused with "défendre"?
"défendre" is commonly confused with "déféré", "défense", "défendu". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "défendre"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "défendre" is \de.fɑ̃dʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "défendre" come from?
"défendre" 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.