intrigue
French, noun
intrigue is spelled I-N-T-R-I-G-U-E (8 letters) and appears 9.5 times per million words in written French, the 6,944th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Intrigue is a French feminine noun meaning “intrigue (complicated or clandestine plot or scheme intended to effect some purpose by secret artifice)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive of intriguer. With an accent, intrigué is a different word: “past participle of intriguer”. The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Pratique secrète qu’on emploie pour faire réussir ou pour faire manquer une affaire”.
What does intrigue mean in English?
noun
- 1
feminineintrigue (complicated or clandestine plot or scheme intended to effect some purpose by secret artifice)
- 2
feminineplot (the course of a story)
verb
- 1
first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
- 2
second-person singular imperative
verb
- 1
past participle of intriguer
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
noun: 1. Pratique secrète qu’on emploie pour faire réussir ou pour faire manquer une affaire. 2. Commerce secret de galanterie. 3. Ensemble des différents incidents qui forment le nœud d’une pièce ou d'un film.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of intrigue
- intrigues plural
- intriguée feminine
- intrigués masculine plural
- intriguées feminine plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to intrigue
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is intrigue in French?
intrigue appears 9.5 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).