détériorer

\de.te.ʁjɔ.ʁe\

/\de.te.ʁjɔ.ʁe\/ verb

The verdict

“détériorer” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #32,391 in French word frequency and used as a verb.

#32,391
frequency rank, French
10
letters
15
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Mettre en mauvais état.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

détériorer vs déterrer
70% similar
détériorer vs détériore
90% similar

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

Key facts for détériorer
PropertyValue
Headworddétériorer
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\de.te.ʁjɔ.ʁe\
Letters10
Frequency rank#32,391
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “détériorer” 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). détériorer 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 détériorer is 10 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \de.te.ʁjɔ.ʁe\. Corpus data places it at rank #32,391 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Mettre en mauvais état.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for détériorer, with forms such as "ddétériorer", "deteriorer", and "dtéériorer". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "déterrer", "détériore", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, 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 détériorer, spelled D-É-T-É-R-I-O-R-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Mettre en mauvais état.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ddétériorer,deteriorer,dtéériorer,détréiorer,déttériorer,détéirorer,détérioerr,détériorerr,détériorre,détériorrer,détériroer,détéroirer,détérriorer,déétriorer,édtériorer

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of détériorer - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ddétériorer1deteriorer2dtéériorer2détréiorer2déttériorer1détéirorer2détérioerr2détériorerr1
Edit distance from "détériorer"

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 "détériorer"?
"détériorer" is spelled D-É-T-É-R-I-O-R-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \de.te.ʁjɔ.ʁe\.
What does "détériorer" mean?
As a verb, "détériorer" means: Mettre en mauvais état.
What words are commonly confused with "détériorer"?
"détériorer" is commonly confused with "déterrer", "détériore". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "détériorer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "détériorer" is \de.te.ʁjɔ.ʁe\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "détériorer" come from?
"détériorer" 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.

Using “détériorer”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is D-É-T-É-R-I-O-R-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \de.te.ʁjɔ.ʁe\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “déterrer” - see the side-by-side comparison. détériorer vs déterrer
  • 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