rétrograde

/\ʁe.tʁɔ.ɡʁad\/ adj

Letters

10 characters

Frequency Rank

#24,023

in French word usage

Misspellings

16

tracked variants

Confusables

0

similar word pairs

rétrograde is anFrenchadj. It means: Qui va, qui se fait en arrière. Pronounced \ʁe.tʁɔ.ɡʁad\.

Key facts for rétrograde
PropertyValue
Headwordrétrograde
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdj
IPA\ʁe.tʁɔ.ɡʁad\
Letters10
Frequency rank#24,023
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of rétrograde in French word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for rétrograde is 10 letters long, classified as anadj, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ʁe.tʁɔ.ɡʁad\. Corpus data places it at rank #24,023 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 16 documented wrong-spelling variants for rétrograde, with forms such as "retrograde", "rrétrograde", and "rtérograde". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

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. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct French form is rétrograde, spelled R-É-T-R-O-G-R-A-D-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui va, qui se fait en arrière.
  2. 2
    Qualifie les corps célestes, lorsqu’ils paraissent aller en sens inverse des signes du zodiaque.
  3. 3
    Qualifie des hommes, partis, ou pouvoirs qui cherchent à revenir en arrière, à rétablir des institutions que l’on considère comme surannées.

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: retrograde,rrétrograde,rtérograde,rértograde,rétorgrade,rétrgorade,rétrogarde,rétroggrade,rétrogradde,rétrograed,rétrogrdae,rétrogrrade,rétrorgade,rétrrograde,réttrograde,értrograde

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for rétrograde

Misspelling Variants of "rétrograde"

retrograde10rrétrograde11rtérograde10rértograde10rétorgrade10rétrgorade10rétrogarde10rétroggrade11
Misspelling Variants of "rétrograde"

Frequency rank: #24,023 in French

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "rétrograde"?
"rétrograde" is spelled R-É-T-R-O-G-R-A-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ʁe.tʁɔ.ɡʁad\.
What does "rétrograde" mean?
As an adj, "rétrograde" means: Qui va, qui se fait en arrière.
What are common misspellings of "rétrograde"?
Common misspellings include "retrograde", "rrétrograde", "rtérograde", "rértograde", "rétorgrade". The correct spelling is "rétrograde".
How do you pronounce "rétrograde"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rétrograde" is \ʁe.tʁɔ.ɡʁad\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "rétrograde" come from?
"rétrograde" 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.

Nearby French words

Other entries that begin with the letter R in our French index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.