force majeure

\fɔʁs ma.ʒœʁ\

/\fɔʁs ma.ʒœʁ\/ noun

The verdict

“force majeure” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Ensemble des circonstances imprévisibles et inéluctables qui libèrent une personne de ses responsabilités ou obligations.

Corpus desk

Index FR-force-majeure · force majeure · French

force majeure · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "F" 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 force majeure
PropertyValue
Headwordforce majeure
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\fɔʁs ma.ʒœʁ\
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « force majeure » en français

force majeuresiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

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

Rare enough to double-check

force majeure is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \fɔʁs ma.ʒœʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Ensemble des circonstances imprévisibles et inéluctables qui libèrent une personne de ses responsabilités ou obligations.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for force majeure, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is force majeure, spelled F-O-R-C-E- -M-A-J-E-U-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Ensemble des circonstances imprévisibles et inéluctables qui libèrent une personne de ses responsabilités ou obligations.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Victime d’une agression à main armée, il s’est retrouvé en situation de légitime défense. Il s’agissait donc d’un cas de force majeure.
  2. Ainsi, il ne suffirait pas de dire que la police d’assurance a été adhirée ou perdue, pour être admis à en prouver l’existence ; il faudrait encore qu’il fût avoué ou justifié qu’un événement de force majeure a eu lieu, et qu’il a pu être la cause de cette perte.

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 "force majeure"?
"force majeure" is spelled F-O-R-C-E- -M-A-J-E-U-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \fɔʁs ma.ʒœʁ\.
What does "force majeure" mean?
As a noun, "force majeure" means: Ensemble des circonstances imprévisibles et inéluctables qui libèrent une personne de ses responsabilités ou obligations.
How do you pronounce "force majeure"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "force majeure" is \fɔʁs ma.ʒœʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "force majeure" come from?
"force majeure" 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