rétif
\ʁe.tif\
The verdict
“rétif” is an uncommon French word, ranked #70,191 in French word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #70,191
- frequency rank, French
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Qui s’arrête ou qui recule au lieu d’avancer. Se dit généralement au propre pour les chevaux et autres montures.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | rétif |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | \ʁe.tif\ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #70,191 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “rétif” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for rétif is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ʁe.tif\. Corpus data places it at rank #70,191 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No generated misspelling entries exist for rétif in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. 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 rétif, spelled R-É-T-I-F.
Definition
- 1Qui s’arrête ou qui recule au lieu d’avancer. Se dit généralement au propre pour les chevaux et autres montures.
- 2Qui est indocile, difficile à conduire, à persuader.
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
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Using “rétif”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is R-É-T-I-F - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \ʁe.tif\ (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.