ultimatum

\yl.ti.ma.tɔm\

/\yl.ti.ma.tɔm\/ noun

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

The verdict

“ultimatum” has 13 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #20,595. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#20,595
frequency rank, French
456
“U” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Sommation, mise en demeure ; exigence que l’on déclare irrévocable, à laquelle il doit être satisfait dans un délai fixé.

Corpus desk

Index FR-ultimatum · ultimatum · French

ultimatum · rank #20,595 · 13 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #20,595
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 456
  • PHOTO-FINISH turn

Nearest frequency peer: turn (-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 « ultimatum »

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

corpus weight

What this shows « ultimatum » 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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

ultimatum vs ultimate
78% similar

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

Key facts for ultimatum
PropertyValue
Headwordultimatum
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\yl.ti.ma.tɔm\
Letters9
Frequency rank#20,595
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « ultimatum »

De gauche à droite: le peu qui porte la parole quotidienne, puis la longue queue quasi invisible.ultimatumse place ici:

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

L'échelle est logarithmique (chaque tic ≈ 10× plus rare). Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « turn » (#20,594), « underground » (#20,596), « turbines » (#20,593). Parmi 456 lemmes en « U », « ultimatum » est au #20,595. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around ultimatum (IPA \yl.ti.ma.tɔm\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #20,595 among 456 “U” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for ultimatum, with forms such as "lutimatum", "ulitmatum", and "ulltimatum". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "ultimate", 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 its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is ultimatum, spelled U-L-T-I-M-A-T-U-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sommation, mise en demeure ; exigence que l’on déclare irrévocable, à laquelle il doit être satisfait dans un délai fixé.
  2. 2
    Dernier mot ; mise en demeure ; sommation.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Envoyer un ultimatum.
  2. Solange, après avoir lancé son ultimatum, s'était renfermée dans un silence inquiétant. Elle s'en tenait à ce qu'elle avait dit […].

This word in other languages

ultimatum(English)ultimátum(Español)Ultimatum(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • lutimatum
  • ulitmatum
  • ulltimatum
  • ultiamtum
  • ultimatmu
  • ultimattum
  • ultimatumm
  • ultimautm
  • ultimmatum
  • ultimtaum
  • ultmiatum
  • ulttimatum
  • utlimatum

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

lutimatum2ulitmatum2ulltimatum1ultiamtum2ultimatmu2ultimattum1ultimatumm1ultimautm2
Edit distance from "ultimatum"

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 "ultimatum"?
"ultimatum" is spelled U-L-T-I-M-A-T-U-M. The IPA pronunciation is \yl.ti.ma.tɔm\.
What does "ultimatum" mean?
As a noun, "ultimatum" means: Sommation, mise en demeure ; exigence que l’on déclare irrévocable, à laquelle il doit être satisfait dans un délai fixé.
What words are commonly confused with "ultimatum"?
"ultimatum" is commonly confused with "ultimate". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ultimatum"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ultimatum" is \yl.ti.ma.tɔm\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ultimatum" come from?
"ultimatum" 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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

vendredis#20,600tournante#20,589véridique#20,604écossaise#20,612

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

suspecté13 variantséducateur13 variantsservitude13 variantsadmissible13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list