effleurer

\e.flœ.ʁe\

/\e.flœ.ʁe\/ verb

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

The verdict

“effleurer” has 11 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #40,237. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#40,237
frequency rank, French
201,161
“E” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Raser, passer tout près, atteindre légèrement.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

effleurer vs effleure
89% similar

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

Key facts for effleurer
PropertyValue
Headwordeffleurer
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\e.flœ.ʁe\
Letters9
Frequency rank#40,237
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “effleurer” 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). effleurer lands here:

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

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around effleurer (IPA \e.flœ.ʁe\), averb. Corpus frequency is #40,237 among 201,161 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for effleurer, with forms such as "effelurer", "effleruer", and "effleuerr". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "effleure", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No borrowing history is documented 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 effleurer, spelled E-F-F-L-E-U-R-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Raser, passer tout près, atteindre légèrement.
  2. 2
    Enlever seulement la partie superficielle d’une chose.
  3. 3
    Action qui consiste à enlever, du côté de l’épiderme les parties d'une peau qui la rendent dure.
  4. 4
    S’enlever un morceau de peau. Par exemple en se rasant.

This word in other languages

brush(English)rozar(Español)streifen(Deutsch)roçar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • effelurer
  • effleruer
  • effleuerr
  • effleurerr
  • effleurre
  • effleurrer
  • efflleurer
  • effluerer
  • efleurer
  • eflfeurer
  • fefleurer

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

effelurer2effleruer2effleuerr2effleurerr1effleurre2effleurrer1efflleurer1effluerer2
Edit distance from "effleurer"

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 "effleurer"?
"effleurer" is spelled E-F-F-L-E-U-R-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \e.flœ.ʁe\.
What does "effleurer" mean?
As a verb, "effleurer" means: Raser, passer tout près, atteindre légèrement.
What words are commonly confused with "effleurer"?
"effleurer" is commonly confused with "effleure". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "effleurer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "effleurer" is \e.flœ.ʁe\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "effleurer" come from?
"effleurer" 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.

Using “effleurer”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is E-F-F-L-E-U-R-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \e.flœ.ʁe\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “effleure” - see the side-by-side comparison. effleurer vs effleure
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Same frequency band

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