religion

\ʁə.li.ʒjɔ̃\

/\ʁə.li.ʒjɔ̃\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“religion” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #1,189 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#1,189
frequency rank, French
8
letters
11
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Système de représentation du monde et de croyances fondé sur la foi, et consolidé par l’accomplissement de rites dans le cadre d’un culte rendu à une ou plusieurs puissances, souvent célestes.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

religion vs révision
63% similar
religion vs religions
89% similar
religion vs région
63% similar

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

Key facts for religion
PropertyValue
Headwordreligion
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ʁə.li.ʒjɔ̃\
Letters8
Frequency rank#1,189
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “religion” 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). religion 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 religion is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ʁə.li.ʒjɔ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #1,189 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for religion, with forms such as "erligion", "reilgion", and "relgiion". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "révision", "religions", "région", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is religion, spelled R-E-L-I-G-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Système de représentation du monde et de croyances fondé sur la foi, et consolidé par l’accomplissement de rites dans le cadre d’un culte rendu à une ou plusieurs puissances, souvent célestes.
  2. 2
    Culte qu’on rend à la divinité.
  3. 3
    (Sens courant) Doctrine religieuse.
  4. 4
    Foi ; croyance ; piété ; dévotion.
  5. 5
    (En particulier) Conception particulière de la foi qu’un croyant fidèle à l’Église exprime dans son œuvre.
  6. 6
    Philosophie, principe fondamental assimilable à une religion chez une personne.
  7. 7
    (Droit canon) État des personnes s’étant engagées par des vœux solennels à suivre une règle au sein d’un ordre monastique.
  8. 8
    Ordre de Malte.
  9. 9
    Scrupule, obligation rigoureuse qu’on s’impose, respect de règles presque sacrées.
  10. 10
    Fondement, matière à penser.

Synonyms

confessioncroyancecultefoipiétésuperstitionsecte

Antonyms

anticléricalismeanarchismeathéismeagnosticismeignosticismenaturalismematérialisme

This word in other languages

religion(English)religión(Español)Religion(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: erligion,reilgion,relgiion,religgion,religino,religionn,religoin,reliigon,relligion,rleigion,rreligion

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of religion - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

erligion2reilgion2relgiion2religgion1religino2religionn1religoin2reliigon2
Edit distance from "religion"

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 "religion"?
"religion" is spelled R-E-L-I-G-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \ʁə.li.ʒjɔ̃\.
What does "religion" mean?
As a noun, "religion" means: Système de représentation du monde et de croyances fondé sur la foi, et consolidé par l’accomplissement de rites dans le cadre d’un culte rendu à une ou plusieurs puissances, souvent célestes.
What words are commonly confused with "religion"?
"religion" is commonly confused with "révision", "religions", "région". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "religion"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "religion" is \ʁə.li.ʒjɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "religion" come from?
"religion" 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.

Using “religion”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is R-E-L-I-G-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ʁə.li.ʒjɔ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “révision” - see the side-by-side comparison. religion vs révision
  • 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