sanction
\sɑ̃k.sjɔ̃\
The verdict
“sanction” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #6,439 in French word frequency and used as a noun.
- #6,439
- frequency rank, French
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Acte par lequel le souverain, le chef du pouvoir exécutif donne à une loi l’approbation, la confirmation qui la rend exécutoire.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | sanction |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \sɑ̃k.sjɔ̃\ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #6,439 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “sanction” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for sanction is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \sɑ̃k.sjɔ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #6,439 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for sanction, with forms such as "asnction", "sacntion", and "sancction". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "section", "sanctions", "sanctionné", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is sanction, spelled S-A-N-C-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1Acte par lequel le souverain, le chef du pouvoir exécutif donne à une loi l’approbation, la confirmation qui la rend exécutoire.
- 2Acte d'une autorité sur une situation légale.
- 3Approbation que l’on donne à une chose.
- 4Peine ou récompense prévues pour assurer l’exécution d’une loi.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: asnction,sacntion,sancction,sanciton,sanctino,sanctionn,sanctoin,sancttion,sannction,santcion,snaction,ssanction
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sanction - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "sanction"?
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Using “sanction”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is S-A-N-C-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \sɑ̃k.sjɔ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “section” - see the side-by-side comparison. sanction vs section
- 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.