retarder

\ʁə.taʁ.de\

/\ʁə.taʁ.de\/ verb

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

The verdict

“retarder” has 12 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #12,466. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,466
frequency rank, French
5,742
“R” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
17
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Différer ; temporiser.

Corpus desk

Index FR-retarder · retarder · French

retarder · rank #12,466 · 12 variants · 17 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,466
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 17 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,742
  • PHOTO-FINISH repli

Nearest frequency peer: repli (-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.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « retarder »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « retarder » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

retarder vs retirer
75% similar
retarder vs retards
75% similar
retarder vs retardés
75% similar

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

Key facts for retarder
PropertyValue
Headwordretarder
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\ʁə.taʁ.de\
Letters8
Frequency rank#12,466
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs17
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « retarder »

La fréquence va de la poignée de mots du quotidien (gauche) à la longue queue presque jamais vue (droite).retarderse place ici:

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

Les tics avancent en logarithme; chacun est de l'ordre de dix fois plus rare. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « repli » (#12,465), « rex » (#12,467), « rey » (#12,468). Parmi 5,742 lemmes en « R », « retarder » est au #12,466. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around retarder (IPA \ʁə.taʁ.de\), averb. Corpus frequency is #12,466 among 5,742 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for retarder, with forms such as "ertarder", "reatrder", and "retadrer". 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 17 confusable-pair relationships, "retirer", "retards", "retardés", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is retarder, spelled R-E-T-A-R-D-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Différer ; temporiser.
  2. 2
    Empêcher d’aller, de partir ou d’avancer ; être cause qu’une chose vienne à être différée.
  3. 3
    Mettre en retard.
  4. 4
    Se dit d’une horloge, d’une pendule, d’une montre qui va trop lentement.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Celui qui veut vendre un cheval atteint d’épilepsie n’en peut pas dissimuler les accès à son gré à moins qu’il ne puisse les retarder ou les modérer par la vertu de substances médicamenteuses : le bromure de potassium par exemple.
  2. Je retarde mon départ autant que je le puis.

This word in other languages

delay(English)atrasar(Español)vertagen(Deutsch)afrouxar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ertarder
  • reatrder
  • retadrer
  • retardder
  • retarderr
  • retardre
  • retaredr
  • retarrder
  • retrader
  • rettarder
  • rretarder
  • rtearder

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of retarder - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ertarder2reatrder2retadrer2retardder1retarderr1retardre2retaredr2retarrder1
Edit distance from "retarder"

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 "retarder"?
"retarder" is spelled R-E-T-A-R-D-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \ʁə.taʁ.de\.
What does "retarder" mean?
As a verb, "retarder" means: Différer ; temporiser.
What words are commonly confused with "retarder"?
"retarder" is commonly confused with "retirer", "retards", "retardés". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "retarder"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "retarder" is \ʁə.taʁ.de\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "retarder" come from?
"retarder" 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 "retarder", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

répandre#12,472soutenus#12,481superman#12,486théâtres#12,491

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

sollicité12 variantspermettez12 variantsparvenus12 variantsvignoble12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list