setback
\ˈsɛt.ˌbæk\
The verdict
“setback” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Contretemps, échec.
Corpus desk
Index FR-setback · setback · French
setback · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | setback |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \ˈsɛt.ˌbæk\ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « setback » en français
Rare enough to double-check
setback is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ˈsɛt.ˌbæk\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Contretemps, échec.".
setback has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
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 setback, spelled S-E-T-B-A-C-K.
Definition
- 1Contretemps, échec.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.