academical

/ˌæk.əˈdɛm.ɪ.kl̩/

//ˌæk.əˈdɛm.ɪ.kl̩// adj

"academical" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“academical” is uncommon English (frequency #64,157 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#64,157
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Belonging to the school of Plato; believing in Plato's philosophy; sceptical .

Corpus desk

Index EN-academical · academical · English

academical · rank #64,157 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #64,157
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH Acadian

Nearest frequency peer: Acadian (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

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.

Long-tail ranks near “academical”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “academical” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for academical
PropertyValue
Headwordacademical
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌæk.əˈdɛm.ɪ.kl̩/
Letters10
Frequency rank#64,157
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “academical” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).academicalfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Acadian” (#64,158), “acclimate” (#64,159), “abolishment” (#64,154). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “academical” is #64,157. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

academical is uncommon English at frequency #64,157 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˌæk.əˈdɛm.ɪ.kl̩/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for academical in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin acadēmicus + -al. The correct English form is academical, spelled A-C-A-D-E-M-I-C-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Belonging to the school of Plato; believing in Plato's philosophy; sceptical .
  2. 2
    Pertaining to a university or other form of higher education.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. This faithfull deputy of his maker and Maſter, entended no prepoſterous courſe againſt you. His breſt like the hart of a good Magiſtrate, is the Ocean whereinto all the cares of our Academicall causes empty themſelues, which hee ever ſendeth forth againe in a wiſe conveyance by the ſtreames of iuſtice

Etymology

From Latin acadēmicus + -al.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "academical"?
"academical" is spelled A-C-A-D-E-M-I-C-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌæk.əˈdɛm.ɪ.kl̩/.
What does "academical" mean?
As an adjective, "academical" means: Belonging to the school of Plato; believing in Plato's philosophy; sceptical .
How do you pronounce "academical"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "academical" is /ˌæk.əˈdɛm.ɪ.kl̩/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "academical"?
From Latin acadēmicus + -al. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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 English words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list