désavoir

\de.sa.vwaʁ\

/\de.sa.vwaʁ\/ verb

The verdict

“désavoir” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Ne plus savoir, oublier.

Corpus desk

Index FR-desavoir · désavoir · French

désavoir · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "D" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for désavoir
PropertyValue
Headworddésavoir
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\de.sa.vwaʁ\
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « désavoir » en français

désavoirreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

désavoir is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed \de.sa.vwaʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Ne plus savoir, oublier.".

Zero misspellings are on record for désavoir in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is désavoir, spelled D-É-S-A-V-O-I-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Ne plus savoir, oublier.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how désavoir appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. « Nous savons, dit Jakobson, mais nous ne voyons pas ». En obligeant le lecteur à décrypter pas à pas, vous l'amenez à désavoir pour voir.
  2. Il a aidé l'autre à désavoir, à relativiser l'absolu, à désapprendre ce qu'il croyait savoir, y compris sur lui-même.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "désavoir"?
"désavoir" is spelled D-É-S-A-V-O-I-R. The IPA pronunciation is \de.sa.vwaʁ\.
What does "désavoir" mean?
As a verb, "désavoir" means: Ne plus savoir, oublier.
How do you pronounce "désavoir"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "désavoir" is \de.sa.vwaʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "désavoir" come from?
"désavoir" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list