accusatory

/əˈkju.zəˌtɔɹ.i/

//əˈkju.zəˌtɔɹ.i// adj

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

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

The verdict

“accusatory” is uncommon English (frequency #62,653 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#62,653
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Pertaining to, or containing, an accusation.

Corpus desk

Index EN-accusatory · accusatory · English

accusatory · rank #62,653 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #62,653
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH abutment

Nearest frequency peer: abutment (-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 “accusatory”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for accusatory
PropertyValue
Headwordaccusatory
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/əˈkju.zəˌtɔɹ.i/
Letters10
Frequency rank#62,653
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “accusatory” 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).accusatoryfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “abutment” (#62,652), “Advani” (#62,655), “AAD” (#62,650). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “accusatory” is #62,653. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

accusatory is uncommon English at frequency #62,653 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /əˈkju.zəˌtɔɹ.i/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Pertaining to, or containing, an accusation.".

Zero misspellings are on record for accusatory 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, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English accusatorie, from Middle French accusatorie and its etymon Latin accūsātōrius. By surface analysis, accuse + -atory. The correct English form is accusatory, spelled A-C-C-U-S-A-T-O-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pertaining to, or containing, an accusation.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. This conclusion will certainly be strengthened by reading the accusatory speech composed by Deinarchus […]
  2. Had she heard the same Bob Dylan singing “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll,” his accusatory song about the fatal caning of a 51-year-old black barmaid by a young white patrician, “The Help” might have ventured outside its harsh yet still comfortable, reader-friendly world.

Etymology

From Middle English accusatorie, from Middle French accusatorie and its etymon Latin accūsātōrius. By surface analysis, accuse + -atory.

This word in other languages

acusatorio(Español)accusateur(Français)anklagend(Deutsch)

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 "accusatory"?
"accusatory" is spelled A-C-C-U-S-A-T-O-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈkju.zəˌtɔɹ.i/.
What does "accusatory" mean?
As an adjective, "accusatory" means: Pertaining to, or containing, an accusation.
How do you pronounce "accusatory"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "accusatory" is /əˈkju.zəˌtɔɹ.i/. 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 "accusatory"?
From Middle English accusatorie, from Middle French accusatorie and its etymon Latin accūsātōrius. By surface analysis, accuse + -atory. 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 "accusatory", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

afflicting#62,657Whitehorse#62,621unthinking#62,599unmolested#62,597

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list