descriptif

\dɛs.kʁip.tif\

/\dɛs.kʁip.tif\/ adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“descriptif” has 16 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #20,415. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#20,415
frequency rank, French
5,307
“D” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Qui a pour objet de décrire.

Corpus desk

Index FR-descriptif · descriptif · French

descriptif · rank #20,415 · 16 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #20,415
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,307
  • PHOTO-FINISH Dawson

Nearest frequency peer: Dawson (-1 rank slots)

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.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « descriptif »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « descriptif » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

descriptif vs description
82% similar
descriptif vs descriptive
82% similar

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

Key facts for descriptif
PropertyValue
Headworddescriptif
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\dɛs.kʁip.tif\
Letters10
Frequency rank#20,415
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « descriptif »

De gauche à droite: le peu qui porte la parole quotidienne, puis la longue queue quasi invisible.descriptifse place ici:

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

L'axe est logarithmique: chaque tic marque environ dix fois moins de fréquence. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « Dawson » (#20,414), « designers » (#20,416), « Cyrille » (#20,413). Parmi 5,307 lemmes en « D », « descriptif » est au #20,415. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around descriptif (IPA \dɛs.kʁip.tif\), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #20,415 among 5,307 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for descriptif, with forms such as "ddescriptif", "decsriptif", and "desccriptif". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "description", "descriptive", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is descriptif, spelled D-E-S-C-R-I-P-T-I-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui a pour objet de décrire.
  2. 2
    Qui représente les personnes ou les choses par leurs traits extérieurs.
  3. 3
    Qui représente les solides par leurs lignes de projection.
  4. 4
    Qui a pour objet de décrire l’usage réel, sans jugement normatif.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Nylander a décrit plus de 3000 espèces nouvelles, d'Europe et d'ailleurs, […]. L'abbé A. M. Hué, un excellent lichénologue qui fut un élève de Nylander, a réuni l'ensemble de cette œuvre descriptive en deux volumes (1886, 1892).

Synonyms

descriptiviste

Antonyms

normatif

This word in other languages

descriptive(English)descritivo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddescriptif
  • decsriptif
  • desccriptif
  • descirptif
  • descripitf
  • descripptif
  • descriptfi
  • descriptiff
  • descripttif
  • descritpif
  • descrpitif
  • descrriptif
  • desrciptif
  • desscriptif
  • dsecriptif
  • edscriptif

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of descriptif - 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.

ddescriptif1decsriptif2desccriptif1descirptif2descripitf2descripptif1descriptfi2descriptiff1
Edit distance from "descriptif"

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 "descriptif"?
"descriptif" is spelled D-E-S-C-R-I-P-T-I-F. The IPA pronunciation is \dɛs.kʁip.tif\.
What does "descriptif" mean?
As an adjective, "descriptif" means: Qui a pour objet de décrire.
What words are commonly confused with "descriptif"?
"descriptif" is commonly confused with "description", "descriptive". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "descriptif"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "descriptif" is \dɛs.kʁip.tif\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "descriptif" come from?
"descriptif" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "descriptif", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

contagieux#20,403congestion#20,400confirmées#20,399condamnées#20,398

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

commençaient16 variantsenchaînent16 variantsexagération16 variantscentristes16 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list