adiabatic

/ˌeɪ.dɪəˈbæt.ɪk/

//ˌeɪ.dɪəˈbæt.ɪk// adj

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

"adiabatic" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“adiabatic” is uncommon English (frequency #59,169 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#59,169
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Without gain or loss of heat (and thus with no change in entropy, in the quasistatic approximation).

Corpus desk

Index EN-adiabatic · adiabatic · English

adiabatic · rank #59,169 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #59,169
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH acclamation

Nearest frequency peer: acclamation (-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 “adiabatic”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for adiabatic
PropertyValue
Headwordadiabatic
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌeɪ.dɪəˈbæt.ɪk/
Letters9
Frequency rank#59,169
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “adiabatic” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).adiabaticfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “acclamation” (#59,168), “Adria” (#59,170), “advisement” (#59,171). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “adiabatic” is #59,169. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

adiabatic is uncommon English at frequency #59,169 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˌeɪ.dɪəˈbæt.ɪk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for adiabatic in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: 19th-century coinage (introduced by W. J. M. Rankine in the 1860s) based on Ancient Greek ἀδιάβατος (adiábatos, “impassable”), used of terrain (rivers, forests) by Xenophon, from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + διά (diá, “through”) + βατός (batós, “passable”), from βαίνω … The correct English form is adiabatic, spelled A-D-I-A-B-A-T-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Without gain or loss of heat (and thus with no change in entropy, in the quasistatic approximation).
  2. 2
    Involving the slow change of the Hamiltonian of a system from its initial value to a final value.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The line drawn on the indicator diagram in the latter case has been named by Professor Rankine an Adiabatic line, because it is defined by the condition that heat is not allowed to pass through (διαβαίνειν) the vessel which confines the substance.
  2. Talk of dynamic compression and adiabatic gradients didn't carry as much weight as the certainty of its conscious intent.

Etymology

19th-century coinage (introduced by W. J. M. Rankine in the 1860s) based on Ancient Greek ἀδιάβατος (adiábatos, “impassable”), used of terrain (rivers, forests) by Xenophon, from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + διά (diá, “through”) + βατός (batós, “passable”), from βαίνω (baínō, “to go”).

This word in other languages

adiabático(Español)adiabatique(Français)adiabatisch(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 "adiabatic"?
"adiabatic" is spelled A-D-I-A-B-A-T-I-C. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌeɪ.dɪəˈbæt.ɪk/.
What does "adiabatic" mean?
As an adjective, "adiabatic" means: Without gain or loss of heat (and thus with no change in entropy, in the quasistatic approximation).
How do you pronounce "adiabatic"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "adiabatic" is /ˌeɪ.dɪəˈbæt.ɪk/. 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 "adiabatic"?
19th-century coinage (introduced by W. J. M. Rankine in the 1860s) based on Ancient Greek ἀδιάβατος (adiábatos, “impassable”), used of terrain (rivers, forests) by Xenophon, from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + διά (diá, “through”) + βατός (batós, “passable”), f... 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 "adiabatic", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

afterword#59,172Abyssinia#59,165Arrington#59,197Zacharias#59,138

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list