persécuter

\pɛʁ.se.ky.te\

/\pɛʁ.se.ky.te\/ verb

The verdict

“persécuter” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #43,598 in French word frequency and used as a verb.

#43,598
frequency rank, French
10
letters
16
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Inquiéter, tourmenter sans relâche par des voies injustes, par des poursuites violentes.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

persécuter vs persécutés
80% similar
persécuter vs percuter
80% similar

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

Key facts for persécuter
PropertyValue
Headwordpersécuter
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\pɛʁ.se.ky.te\
Letters10
Frequency rank#43,598
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “persécuter” 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). persécuter lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for persécuter is 10 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \pɛʁ.se.ky.te\. Corpus data places it at rank #43,598 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for persécuter, with forms such as "eprsécuter", "perrsécuter", and "perscéuter". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "persécutés", "percuter", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, 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 persécuter, spelled P-E-R-S-É-C-U-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Inquiéter, tourmenter sans relâche par des voies injustes, par des poursuites violentes.
  2. 2
    Importuner, presser avec indiscrétion, se rendre incommode.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: eprsécuter,perrsécuter,perscéuter,persecuter,perssécuter,perséccuter,perséctuer,persécuetr,persécuterr,persécutre,persécutter,perséucter,peréscuter,pesrécuter,ppersécuter,presécuter

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of persécuter - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

eprsécuter2perrsécuter1perscéuter2persecuter1perssécuter1perséccuter1perséctuer2persécuetr2
Edit distance from "persécuter"

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 "persécuter"?
"persécuter" is spelled P-E-R-S-É-C-U-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \pɛʁ.se.ky.te\.
What does "persécuter" mean?
As a verb, "persécuter" means: Inquiéter, tourmenter sans relâche par des voies injustes, par des poursuites violentes.
What words are commonly confused with "persécuter"?
"persécuter" is commonly confused with "persécutés", "percuter". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "persécuter"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "persécuter" is \pɛʁ.se.ky.te\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "persécuter" come from?
"persécuter" 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 “persécuter”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is P-E-R-S-É-C-U-T-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \pɛʁ.se.ky.te\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “persécutés” - see the side-by-side comparison. persécuter vs persécutés
  • 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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list