partir en vrille
\paʁ.ti.ʁ‿ɑ̃ vʁij\
The verdict
“partir en vrille” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 16
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Être pris, en parlant d’un avion, dans une chute libre tournoyante.
Corpus desk
Index FR-partir-en-vrille · partir en vrille · French
partir en vrille · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 16 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | partir en vrille |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | \paʁ.ti.ʁ‿ɑ̃ vʁij\ |
| Letters | 16 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « partir en vrille » en français
Rare enough to double-check
partir en vrille is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed \paʁ.ti.ʁ‿ɑ̃ vʁij\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for partir en vrille in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is partir en vrille, spelled P-A-R-T-I-R- -E-N- -V-R-I-L-L-E.
Definition
- 1Être pris, en parlant d’un avion, dans une chute libre tournoyante.
- 2Être pris dans une spirale incontrôlable et funeste.
- 3Dégénérer brutalement, parfois sans raison valable.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how partir en vrille appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Il suffit pour cela de se mettre en vol inversé, à très, très basse vitesse, puis de pousser soudainement sur le manche pour faire décrocher l'avion tout en mettant le palonnier en butée d'un côté pour le faire partir en vrille.
C’est l’amateurisme qui fait que l’histoire peut partir en vrille ou tourner au génie.
Synonyms
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.