Plural of “adieu”

The plural of adieu is adieus (some dictionaries also accept adieux).

Why

"Adieu" comes directly from French "à Dieu," literally "to God," a shortened form of the older farewell "je vous recommande à Dieu" ("I commend you to God") — a phrase that, like many parting words across languages, originally invoked divine protection for someone setting off on a journey. English borrowed it whole in the 14th century as a somewhat formal or literary way to say goodbye.

Because "adieu" functions almost entirely as an interjection ("Adieu!") rather than as a countable noun in everyday speech, its plural is used mainly in a specific, slightly theatrical construction — "making one's adieus," meaning saying one's goodbyes — rather than in ordinary counting contexts, which limits how often the plural spelling choice even comes up in practice.

Usage note

"Making one's adieus" is a set, somewhat formal or old-fashioned phrase; in most everyday writing about saying goodbye, simpler words like "goodbyes" or "farewells" are far more natural, with "adieus" reserved for writing that deliberately wants a formal, literary, or faintly humorous French flourish.

"Adieux," with the French -x spelling, appears occasionally in more self-consciously literary writing, but "adieus" is the more commonly seen English plural spelling when the phrase is used at all, since the word has been in English long enough to shed most of its French orthography except in the singular. English also borrowed the related but distinct "adieu" as an occasional noun in older literature meaning simply "farewell" as a spoken word rather than an act, and this literary usage, common in 18th- and 19th-century novels, is largely where the plural construction "adieus" or "adieux" survives today, more as a literary echo than as living, spontaneous speech.

Common real mistakes

Writers sometimes confuse "adieu" (a farewell, implying a longer or final parting) with "au revoir" (until we meet again, implying a temporary goodbye) — a distinction that exists in French but is often flattened in English borrowings; this doesn't affect the plural spelling but is worth knowing when choosing whether "adieu" fits the tone of a farewell being described.

The wider pattern

"Adieu" and "monsieur" are both French borrowings that entered English as whole set phrases or terms of address rather than as ordinary countable nouns, which is why their plurals feel comparatively rare and specialized compared to the French -eau nouns, whose plurals are used constantly in ordinary counting contexts. French farewells actually carry a subtle distinction "adieu" alone doesn't capture in English: "adieu" traditionally implies a longer, possibly permanent parting (invoking God because you might not meet again in this life), while "au revoir" implies an ordinary temporary goodbye — a nuance largely lost when English speakers borrowed only the more dramatic of the two terms.

Examples

• The travelers made their adieus before boarding the early train.
• She penned a series of adieus to friends she knew she'd never see again.
• The novel's final chapter is devoted entirely to the characters' adieus.
• Guests lingered over long adieus at the end of the reception.
• He wrote his adieus in a letter rather than saying them in person.
• The play closes with a round of formal adieus between the lovers.
• Their adieus at the dock stretched on for nearly an hour.
• She collected the adieus of everyone leaving the sinking company in a memoir.
• The soldiers' adieus to their families were brief and unsentimental.
• Each chapter ends with a small adieu to a character who won't return.
• The memoir's final chapter is a long series of quiet adieus.
• Their tearful adieus at the station became a running family story.
• The captain's crew exchanged solemn adieus before the ship departed.
• She saved every letter containing one of his many written adieus.
• The elderly couple's adieus to their grandchildren grew longer each visit.
• She practiced her adieus in French before the exchange trip.
• The novel's narrator interrupts the story to bid readers a series of adieus.
• Their final adieus were exchanged quietly on the crowded platform.