désespéré

\de.zɛs.pe.ʁe\

/\de.zɛs.pe.ʁe\/ adj

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

The verdict

“désespéré” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #12,558 in French word frequency and used as an adjective.

#12,558
frequency rank, French
9
letters
14
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Qui est dans le désespoir, qui agit par désespoir.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

désespéré vs désespérée
90% similar
désespéré vs désespérer
80% similar
désespéré vs désespérées
82% similar

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

Key facts for désespéré
PropertyValue
Headworddésespéré
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\de.zɛs.pe.ʁe\
Letters9
Frequency rank#12,558
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “désespéré” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). désespéré lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for désespéré is 9 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \de.zɛs.pe.ʁe\. Corpus data places it at rank #12,558 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for désespéré, with forms such as "ddésespéré", "desespere", and "dséespéré". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "désespérée", "désespérer", "désespérées", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is désespéré, spelled D-É-S-E-S-P-É-R-É.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui est dans le désespoir, qui agit par désespoir.
  2. 2
    Qui est inspiré par le désespoir.
  3. 3
    Qui cause du désespoir.
  4. 4
    Pour lequel il n'y a aucun espoir.
  5. 5
    Qualifie l'état d'un malade à toute extrémité et qu’on s’attend à voir mourir d’un instant à l’autre, ou d’une chose dont la perte, la ruine, etc., est regardée comme inévitable.

This word in other languages

desperate(English)desesperado(Español)hoffnungslos(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ddésespéré,desespere,dséespéré,déesspéré,désepséré,désesppéré,désespréé,désespérré,désespéér,désesspéré,désesépré,déssepéré,déssespéré,édsespéré

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ddésespéré1desespere3dséespéré2déesspéré2désepséré2désesppéré1désespréé2désespérré1
Edit distance from "désespéré"

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 "désespéré"?
"désespéré" is spelled D-É-S-E-S-P-É-R-É. The IPA pronunciation is \de.zɛs.pe.ʁe\.
What does "désespéré" mean?
As an adjective, "désespéré" means: Qui est dans le désespoir, qui agit par désespoir.
What words are commonly confused with "désespéré"?
"désespéré" is commonly confused with "désespérée", "désespérer", "désespérées". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "désespéré"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "désespéré" is \de.zɛs.pe.ʁe\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "désespéré" come from?
"désespéré" 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.

Using “désespéré”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is D-É-S-E-S-P-É-R-É - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \de.zɛs.pe.ʁe\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “désespérée” - see the side-by-side comparison. désespéré vs désespérée
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list