intermittent
\ɛ̃.tɛʁ.mi.tɑ̃\
The verdict
“intermittent” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #31,559 in French word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #31,559
- frequency rank, French
- 12
- letters
- 17
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Qui est discontinu et reprend par intervalles.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | intermittent |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | \ɛ̃.tɛʁ.mi.tɑ̃\ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Frequency rank | #31,559 |
| Misspellings tracked | 17 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “intermittent” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for intermittent is 12 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ɛ̃.tɛʁ.mi.tɑ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #31,559 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for intermittent, with forms such as "inetrmittent", "inntermittent", and "intemrittent". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "intermittents", "intermittente", "intermittence", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is intermittent, spelled I-N-T-E-R-M-I-T-T-E-N-T.
Definition
- 1Qui est discontinu et reprend par intervalles.
- 2Qualifie une source qui coule de temps en temps.
- 3Qualifie un ruisseau qui coule de temps en temps.
- 4Qualifie un pouls dont les battements cessent par des intervalles inégaux.
- 5Qualifie une fièvre qui cesse et qui reprend à des intervalles réglés.
- 6Qualifie l'ordre suivant lequel les symptômes d’une maladie se montrent et disparaissent alternativement.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: inetrmittent,inntermittent,intemrittent,interimttent,intermitent,intermitetnt,intermittennt,intermittentt,intermittetn,intermittnet,intermmittent,intermtitent,interrmittent,intremittent,inttermittent,itnermittent,nitermittent
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of intermittent - 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.
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 "intermittent"?
What does "intermittent" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "intermittent"?
How do you pronounce "intermittent"?
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Using “intermittent”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is I-N-T-E-R-M-I-T-T-E-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \ɛ̃.tɛʁ.mi.tɑ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “intermittents” - see the side-by-side comparison. intermittent vs intermittents
- Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
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.