violent

\vjɔ.lɑ̃\

/\vjɔ.lɑ̃\/ adj

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

The verdict

“violent” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #3,970 in French word frequency and used as an adjective.

#3,970
frequency rank, French
7
letters
10
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Qui est impétueux, qui agit avec impétuosité, avec une force non contenue, en parlant des évènements, des choses ou des personnes et de leurs actes.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

violent vs volet
71% similar
violent vs vivent
71% similar
violent vs voient
71% similar

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

Key facts for violent
PropertyValue
Headwordviolent
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\vjɔ.lɑ̃\
Letters7
Frequency rank#3,970
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “violent” 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). violent 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 violent is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \vjɔ.lɑ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #3,970 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for violent, with forms such as "ivolent", "viloent", and "vioelnt". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "volet", "vivent", "voient", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is violent, spelled V-I-O-L-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui est impétueux, qui agit avec impétuosité, avec une force non contenue, en parlant des évènements, des choses ou des personnes et de leurs actes.
  2. 2
    Qualifie un vent de tempête, ou tout autre phénomène météorologique qui cause beaucoup de dégâts.
  3. 3
    Qualifie une mort causée par force ou par quelque accident, et non par une cause naturelle et ordinaire.
  4. 4
    Qui emploie volontiers la violence par intérêt ou par goût, particulièrement la violence physique ou sexuelle.
  5. 5
    (Employé avec une négation) Pas compliqué, pépère.

Synonyms

brutal

This word in other languages

violent(English)violento(Español)heftig(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ivolent,viloent,vioelnt,violennt,violentt,violetn,viollent,violnet,voilent,vviolent

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of violent - 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.

ivolent2viloent2vioelnt2violennt1violentt1violetn2viollent1violnet2
Edit distance from "violent"

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 "violent"?
"violent" is spelled V-I-O-L-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is \vjɔ.lɑ̃\.
What does "violent" mean?
As an adjective, "violent" means: Qui est impétueux, qui agit avec impétuosité, avec une force non contenue, en parlant des évènements, des choses ou des personnes et de leurs actes.
What words are commonly confused with "violent"?
"violent" is commonly confused with "volet", "vivent", "voient". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "violent"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "violent" is \vjɔ.lɑ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "violent" come from?
"violent" 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 “violent”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is V-I-O-L-E-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \vjɔ.lɑ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “volet” - see the side-by-side comparison. violent vs volet
  • 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