abstruse

[apˈstʁuːzə]

/[apˈstʁuːzə]/ adj

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

The verdict

“abstruse” is uncommon German (frequency #77,629 among 113,935 “A” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#77,629
frequency rank, German
113,935
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs abstrus

Corpus desk

Index DE-abstruse · abstruse · German

abstruse · rank #77,629 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #77,629
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 113,935
  • PHOTO-FINISH abschöpfen

Nearest frequency peer: abschöpfen (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “abstruse”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “abstruse” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for abstruse
PropertyValue
Headwordabstruse
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[apˈstʁuːzə]
Letters8
Frequency rank#77,629
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “abstruse” sits in German 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). abstruse lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

abstruse is uncommon German at frequency #77,629 among 113,935 “A” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed [apˈstʁuːzə]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 9 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for abstruse, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is abstruse, spelled A-B-S-T-R-U-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs abstrus
  2. 2
    Akkusativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs abstrus
  3. 3
    Nominativ Plural alle Genera der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs abstrus
  4. 4
    Akkusativ Plural alle Genera der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs abstrus
  5. 5
    Nominativ Singular alle Genera der schwachen Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs abstrus
  6. 6
    Akkusativ Singular Femininum der schwachen Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs abstrus
  7. 7
    Akkusativ Singular Neutrum der schwachen Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs abstrus
  8. 8
    Nominativ Singular Femininum der gemischten Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs abstrus
  9. 9
    Akkusativ Singular Femininum der gemischten Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs abstrus

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 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "abstruse"?
"abstruse" is spelled A-B-S-T-R-U-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is [apˈstʁuːzə].
What does "abstruse" mean?
As an adjective, "abstruse" means: Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs abstrus
How do you pronounce "abstruse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "abstruse" is [apˈstʁuːzə]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "abstruse" come from?
"abstruse" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 German words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

überzeug#77,615aircraft#77,645alberner#77,648Alimente#77,649
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