Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

de rigueur

/də ɹɪˈɡɝ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.01 in modern English

Syllables: de ri-gueur
IPA: /də ɹɪˈɡɝ/

11

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Necessary according to etiquette, protocol or fashion.

Example Sentences

"Wearing a suit to a job interview is de rigueur."
"This season, the little black dress is de rigueur."
"[…] his nose—if a sketch of his features be de rigueur for a person of his pretensions—was artistically beautiful enough to have been worth doing in marble by any sculptor not over-busy, […]."
"[…] Lady Muriel—not being one of those lady-singers who think it de rigueur to decline to sing till they have been petitioned three or four times, […]."
"It is still de rigueur for the victorious State to add to its exploitable territory at the expense of the conquered."
"Not a problem. I lived half my adult life in a country where dropping in unannounced was de rigueur."

Etymology

Borrowed from French de rigueur (“required”), from de (“of”) + rigueur (“rigour/rigor”).

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: de rigueur

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /də ɹɪˈɡɝ/
British English: /də ɹɪˈɡɜː(ɹ)/

Rhymes With

there were bras d'honneur disprefer pastorpreneur rouleur teenpreneur ecopreneur wantrepreneur agripreneur artpreneur seniorpreneur fakepreneur

Questions

How do you pronounce de rigueur?: The recorded pronunciation is /də ɹɪˈɡɝ/.
What does de rigueur mean?: Necessary according to etiquette, protocol or fashion.
Where does de rigueur come from?: It is traced to French.

How to pronounce de rigueur

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “de rigueur”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/də ɹɪˈɡɝ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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