relent

\ʁə.lɑ̃\

/\ʁə.lɑ̃\/ noun

The verdict

“relent” is uncommon French (frequency #71,866 among 5,742 “R” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#71,866
frequency rank, French
5,742
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Mauvaise odeur qui persiste.

Corpus desk

Index FR-relent · relent · French

relent · rank #71,866 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #71,866
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,742
  • PHOTO-FINISH relectures

Nearest frequency peer: relectures (-1 rank slots)

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.

Rangs de longue queue près de « relent »

Bande clairsemée: les barres inversent le rang pour que le rare se lise plus court

corpus weight

What this shows Vue de longue queue: où « relent » se situe face à des rangs français aussi rares.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for relent
PropertyValue
Headwordrelent
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ʁə.lɑ̃\
Letters6
Frequency rank#71,866
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « relent » en français

De gauche à droite: le peu qui porte la parole quotidienne, puis la longue queue quasi invisible.relenttombe dans cette queue de rareté:

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

Les tics avancent en logarithme; chacun est de l'ordre de dix fois plus rare. Voisins rares de la même bande: « relectures » (#71,865), « relieur » (#71,867), « relayent » (#71,864). Parmi 5,742 lemmes en « R », « relent » est au #71,866. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

relent is uncommon French at frequency #71,866 among 5,742 “R” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \ʁə.lɑ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for relent, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is relent, spelled R-E-L-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Mauvaise odeur qui persiste.
  2. 2
    Ce qui reste, qui est dans le fond.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Sans doute aussi de ces choux équivoques dont les abominables relents empuantaient avec une obstination digne d’éloges le palier de leur cinquième étage.
  2. Et soulevant à eux deux le fauteuil dans lequel Amédée balancé, aux trois quarts évanoui, se laissait faire, ils le mirent à même de respirer, au lieu des relents du couloir, les puanteurs variées de la rue.

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); 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 "relent"?
"relent" is spelled R-E-L-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is \ʁə.lɑ̃\.
What does "relent" mean?
As a noun, "relent" means: Mauvaise odeur qui persiste.
How do you pronounce "relent"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "relent" is \ʁə.lɑ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "relent" come from?
"relent" 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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "relent", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list