réaction en chaîne

\ʁe.ak.sjɔ̃ ɑ̃ ʃɛn\

/\ʁe.ak.sjɔ̃ ɑ̃ ʃɛn\/ noun

The verdict

“réaction en chaîne” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
18
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Réaction complexe au cours de laquelle un ou plusieurs intermédiaires réactionnels, qui sont souvent des radicaux, sont continuellement régénérés par la répétition d’un cycle d’étapes élémentaires,...

Key facts for réaction en chaîne
PropertyValue
Headwordréaction en chaîne
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ʁe.ak.sjɔ̃ ɑ̃ ʃɛn\
Letters18
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “réaction en chaîne” sits in French frequency

réaction en chaîne falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Rare enough to double-check

réaction en chaîne is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ʁe.ak.sjɔ̃ ɑ̃ ʃɛn\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for réaction en chaîne, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is réaction en chaîne, spelled R-É-A-C-T-I-O-N- -E-N- -C-H-A-Î-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Réaction complexe au cours de laquelle un ou plusieurs intermédiaires réactionnels, qui sont souvent des radicaux, sont continuellement régénérés par la répétition d’un cycle d’étapes élémentaires, dites « étapes de propagation ».
  2. 2
    Réaction de fission en chaîne.
  3. 3
    Suite d’évènements dont chacun est causé par le ou les précédents.

Synonyms

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 "réaction en chaîne"?
"réaction en chaîne" is spelled R-É-A-C-T-I-O-N- -E-N- -C-H-A-Î-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ʁe.ak.sjɔ̃ ɑ̃ ʃɛn\.
What does "réaction en chaîne" mean?
As a noun, "réaction en chaîne" means: Réaction complexe au cours de laquelle un ou plusieurs intermédiaires réactionnels, qui sont souvent des radicaux, sont continuellement régénérés par la répétition d’un cycle d’étapes élémentaires,...
How do you pronounce "réaction en chaîne"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "réaction en chaîne" is \ʁe.ak.sjɔ̃ ɑ̃ ʃɛn\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "réaction en chaîne" come from?
"réaction en chaîne" 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 “réaction en chaîne”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is R-É-A-C-T-I-O-N- -E-N- -C-H-A-Î-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ʁe.ak.sjɔ̃ ɑ̃ ʃɛn\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • 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