discretion

\dɪs.ˈkrɛ.ʃən\

/\dɪs.ˈkrɛ.ʃən\/ noun

The verdict

“discretion” is uncommon French (frequency #65,860 among 5,307 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#65,860
frequency rank, French
5,307
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Discrétion.

Corpus desk

Index FR-discretion · discretion · French

discretion · rank #65,860 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #65,860
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,307
  • PHOTO-FINISH dispendieuse

Nearest frequency peer: dispendieuse (+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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “discretion”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “discretion” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for discretion
PropertyValue
Headworddiscretion
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\dɪs.ˈkrɛ.ʃən\
Letters10
Frequency rank#65,860
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “discretion” sits in French frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).discretion lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

discretion is uncommon French at frequency #65,860 among 5,307 “D” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \dɪs.ˈkrɛ.ʃən\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for discretion, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is discretion, spelled D-I-S-C-R-E-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Discrétion.
  2. 2
    Capacité de prendre des décisions ou des choix sensés.

Synonyms

circumspectionprudence

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "discretion"?
"discretion" is spelled D-I-S-C-R-E-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \dɪs.ˈkrɛ.ʃən\.
What does "discretion" mean?
As a noun, "discretion" means: Discrétion.
How do you pronounce "discretion"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "discretion" is \dɪs.ˈkrɛ.ʃən\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "discretion" come from?
"discretion" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "discretion", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

What to do next

You've looked up "discretion". Here's where to go from here.

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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