dilatoire

\di.la.twaʁ\

/\di.la.twaʁ\/ adj

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Qui tend à prolonger.

Corpus desk

Index FR-dilatoire · dilatoire · French

dilatoire · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 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 dilatoire
PropertyValue
Headworddilatoire
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\di.la.twaʁ\
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « dilatoire » en français

dilatoiren'entre pas dans le top 100.000 du français: zone de termes techniques, archaïques ou rares.

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

Rare enough to double-check

dilatoire is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \di.la.twaʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

dilatoire doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is dilatoire, spelled D-I-L-A-T-O-I-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui tend à prolonger.
  2. 2
    Qualifie un acte qui tend à retarder l’issue d’un procès ou l’adoption d’un texte de loi, ou encore à repousser un paiement.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Seulement, cinq ans plus tard, ce même projet était en souffrance au Sénat où une Commission, mettant en œuvre les procédés dilatoires trop souvent en honneur au Luxembourg, étudiait, réétudiait, approuvait, désapprouvait... atermoyait.
  2. La Russie soutient les manœuvres dilatoires de Téhéran.

This word in other languages

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 "dilatoire"?
"dilatoire" is spelled D-I-L-A-T-O-I-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \di.la.twaʁ\.
What does "dilatoire" mean?
As an adjective, "dilatoire" means: Qui tend à prolonger.
How do you pronounce "dilatoire"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dilatoire" is \di.la.twaʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "dilatoire" come from?
"dilatoire" 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