prévarication

\pʁe.va.ʁi.ka.sjɔ̃\

/\pʁe.va.ʁi.ka.sjɔ̃\/ noun

The verdict

“prévarication” 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) - Grave manquement d’un fonctionnaire, d’un homme d’État, d’un juge… aux devoirs de sa charge.

Corpus desk

Index FR-prevarication · prévarication · French

prévarication · 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 "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.

Key facts for prévarication
PropertyValue
Headwordprévarication
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\pʁe.va.ʁi.ka.sjɔ̃\
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « prévarication » en français

prévaricationreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

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

Rare enough to double-check

prévarication is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \pʁe.va.ʁi.ka.sjɔ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

prévarication has no tracked misspelling variants, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is prévarication, spelled P-R-É-V-A-R-I-C-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Grave manquement d’un fonctionnaire, d’un homme d’État, d’un juge… aux devoirs de sa charge.
  2. 2
    Acte de mauvaise foi commis dans une gestion.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Aujourd’hui, on le comprenait enfin, le silence était devenu impossible, les deux ministres accusés si bruyamment de prévarication devaient répondre, établir leur parfaite innocence, faire sur leur cas la plus éclatante lumière ; sans compter que le Parlement entier ne pouvait rester sous l’accusation d’une vénalité déshonorante.
  2. – Monsieur, votre bienfaiteur profite simplement de son mandat politique pour faire voter l’achat de n’importe quoi, et il fournit lui-même ce n’importe quoi sous le couvert d’un prête-nom. – Mais ce serait de la prévarication ! […] La forme la plus honteuse du vol !

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 "prévarication"?
"prévarication" is spelled P-R-É-V-A-R-I-C-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \pʁe.va.ʁi.ka.sjɔ̃\.
What does "prévarication" mean?
As a noun, "prévarication" means: Grave manquement d’un fonctionnaire, d’un homme d’État, d’un juge… aux devoirs de sa charge.
How do you pronounce "prévarication"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prévarication" is \pʁe.va.ʁi.ka.sjɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "prévarication" come from?
"prévarication" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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