rétraction

\ʁet.ʁak.sjɔ̃\

/\ʁet.ʁak.sjɔ̃\/ noun

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

The verdict

“rétraction” is uncommon French (frequency #60,358 among 507,453 “R” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#60,358
frequency rank, French
507,453
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Action de se rétracter, en parlant d'une chose.

Key facts for rétraction
PropertyValue
Headwordrétraction
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ʁet.ʁak.sjɔ̃\
Letters10
Frequency rank#60,358
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “rétraction” 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). rétraction lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

rétraction is uncommon French at frequency #60,358 among 507,453 “R” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \ʁet.ʁak.sjɔ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

rétraction has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is rétraction, spelled R-É-T-R-A-C-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Action de se rétracter, en parlant d'une chose.
  2. 2
    Raccourcissement, contraction d’une partie du corps.
  3. 3
    Retrait, repli sur soi.

This word in other languages

retraction(English)

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 "rétraction"?
"rétraction" is spelled R-É-T-R-A-C-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \ʁet.ʁak.sjɔ̃\.
What does "rétraction" mean?
As a noun, "rétraction" means: Action de se rétracter, en parlant d'une chose.
How do you pronounce "rétraction"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rétraction" is \ʁet.ʁak.sjɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "rétraction" come from?
"rétraction" 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 “rétraction”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is R-É-T-R-A-C-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ʁet.ʁak.sjɔ̃\ (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

Other uncommon French words near this rank

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