driven

\ˈdɹɪv.ən\

/\ˈdɹɪv.ən\/ verb

The verdict

“driven” is uncommon French (frequency #70,549 among 404,891 “D” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#70,549
frequency rank, French
404,891
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Participe passé du verbe drive.

Key facts for driven
PropertyValue
Headworddriven
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\ˈdɹɪv.ən\
Letters6
Frequency rank#70,549
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “driven” 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). driven 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

driven is uncommon French at frequency #70,549 among 404,891 “D” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed \ˈdɹɪv.ən\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Participe passé du verbe drive.".

driven has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is driven, spelled D-R-I-V-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Participe passé du verbe drive.

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 "driven"?
"driven" is spelled D-R-I-V-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈdɹɪv.ən\.
What does "driven" mean?
As a verb, "driven" means: Participe passé du verbe drive.
How do you pronounce "driven"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "driven" is \ˈdɹɪv.ən\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "driven" come from?
"driven" 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 “driven”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is D-R-I-V-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ˈdɹɪv.ən\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Other uncommon French words near this rank

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