rétrograde

\ʁe.tʁɔ.ɡʁad\

/\ʁe.tʁɔ.ɡʁad\/ adj

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

The verdict

“rétrograde” has 16 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #24,023. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#24,023
frequency rank, French
5,742
“R” headwords
16
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Qui va, qui se fait en arrière.

Corpus desk

Index FR-retrograde · rétrograde · French

rétrograde · rank #24,023 · 16 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #24,023
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,742
  • PHOTO-FINISH résument

Nearest frequency peer: résument (-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 « rétrograde »

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

corpus weight

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

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « rétrograde »

De gauche à droite: le peu qui porte la parole quotidienne, puis la longue queue quasi invisible.rétrogradese 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 « résument » (#24,022), « réversible » (#24,024), « résidentielle » (#24,021). Parmi 5,742 lemmes en « R », « rétrograde » est au #24,023. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around rétrograde (IPA \ʁe.tʁɔ.ɡʁad\), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #24,023 among 5,742 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for rétrograde, with forms such as "retrograde", "rrétrograde", and "rtérograde". 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. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is rétrograde, spelled R-É-T-R-O-G-R-A-D-E.

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.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Marche rétrograde. Mouvement rétrograde. Ordre rétrograde.
  2. Leuwen était sûr que tout le monde disait du bien de lui à madame de Chasteller ; mais la maison du marquis de Pontlevé n’en était pas moins la seule de Nancy où Lucien semblât faire des pas rétrogrades.

Antonyms

directprograde

This word in other languages

retrograde(English)retrógrado(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • retrograde
  • rrétrograde
  • rtérograde
  • rértograde
  • rétorgrade
  • rétrgorade
  • rétrogarde
  • rétroggrade
  • rétrogradde
  • rétrograed
  • rétrogrdae
  • rétrogrrade
  • rétrorgade
  • rétrrograde
  • réttrograde
  • értrograde

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

retrograde1rrétrograde1rtérograde2rértograde2rétorgrade2rétrgorade2rétrogarde2rétroggrade1
Edit distance from "rétrograde"

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 "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 adjective, "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. 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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "rétrograde", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

réversible#24,024retournera#24,013rejoignant#24,008rapprochés#24,004

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

sauvagement16 variantsprévalence16 variantssépultures16 variantsprovocateur16 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list