sourd

\suʁ\

/\suʁ\/ adj

The verdict

“sourd” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #10,411 in French word frequency and used as an adjective.

#10,411
frequency rank, French
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Dont l’acuité auditive est diminuée de façon importante ou totale, en parlant d’une personne ou d'un animal.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

sourd vs sur
60% similar
sourd vs sud
60% similar
sourd vs sous
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for sourd
PropertyValue
Headwordsourd
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\suʁ\
Letters5
Frequency rank#10,411
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sourd” 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). sourd lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for sourd is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \suʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #10,411 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for sourd, with forms such as "osurd", "sorud", and "soudr". 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. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "sur", "sud", "sous", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is sourd, spelled S-O-U-R-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Dont l’acuité auditive est diminuée de façon importante ou totale, en parlant d’une personne ou d'un animal.
  2. 2
    Qui ne tient pas compte de ce qu'on lui dit, qui refuse de comprendre.
  3. 3
    Qui est peu sonore, qui rend un son étouffé.
  4. 4
    Se dit d’un son du langage qui ne fait pas vibrer les cordes vocales.
  5. 5
    Qui est peu sensible, qui se perçoit peu.
  6. 6
    Qualifie les tons qui manquent d’éclat.
  7. 7
    Se dit de certaines choses qui se font secrètement, sans bruit, sans éclat.

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: osurd,sorud,soudr,sourdd,sourrd,ssourd,suord

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

osurd2sorud2soudr2sourdd1sourrd1ssourd1suord2
Edit distance from "sourd"

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 "sourd"?
"sourd" is spelled S-O-U-R-D. The IPA pronunciation is \suʁ\.
What does "sourd" mean?
As an adjective, "sourd" means: Dont l’acuité auditive est diminuée de façon importante ou totale, en parlant d’une personne ou d'un animal.
What words are commonly confused with "sourd"?
"sourd" is commonly confused with "sur", "sud", "sous". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sourd"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sourd" is \suʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "sourd" come from?
"sourd" 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.

Using “sourd”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is S-O-U-R-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \suʁ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “sur” - see the side-by-side comparison. sourd vs sur
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list