agglutination

/əˌɡluːtɪˈneɪ.ʃən/

//əˌɡluːtɪˈneɪ.ʃən// noun

"agglutination" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“agglutination” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The act of uniting by glue or other tenacious substance; the state of being thus united; adhesion of parts.

Key facts for agglutination
PropertyValue
Headwordagglutination
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˌɡluːtɪˈneɪ.ʃən/
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “agglutination” sits in English frequency

agglutination falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for agglutination is 13 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˌɡluːtɪˈneɪ.ʃən/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for agglutination, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Multiple origins. The oldest usage, in relation to tissues adhering or healing in medical contexts, appears in the 16th century, from French agglutination. The linguistic sense derived from this usage during the early 19th century. The sense of gluing or ce… The correct English form is agglutination, spelled A-G-G-L-U-T-I-N-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of uniting by glue or other tenacious substance; the state of being thus united; adhesion of parts.
  2. 2
    Combination in which root words are united with little or no change of form or loss of meaning. See agglutinative.
  3. 3
    The clumping together of red blood cells or bacteria, usually in response to a particular antibody.

Etymology

Multiple origins. The oldest usage, in relation to tissues adhering or healing in medical contexts, appears in the 16th century, from French agglutination. The linguistic sense derived from this usage during the early 19th century. The sense of gluing or cementing objects together in other contexts is from New Latin agglutinatio, from Latin agglūtinō (“glue; fasten to”) + -iō (a suffix used to form nouns). Compare Spanish aglutinación (“uniting; (linguistic) agglutination”), French agglutiner (“to paste together”, verb), and German Agglutination (“(linguistic) agglutination”) and Agglutinierung (“(biological) adhering, clumping”).

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "agglutination"?
"agglutination" is spelled A-G-G-L-U-T-I-N-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /əˌɡluːtɪˈneɪ.ʃən/.
What does "agglutination" mean?
As a noun, "agglutination" means: The act of uniting by glue or other tenacious substance; the state of being thus united; adhesion of parts.
How do you pronounce "agglutination"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "agglutination" is /əˌɡluːtɪˈneɪ.ʃən/. 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 "agglutination"?
Multiple origins. The oldest usage, in relation to tissues adhering or healing in medical contexts, appears in the 16th century, from French agglutination. The linguistic sense derived from this usage during the early 19th century. The sense of gl... 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.

Using “agglutination”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is A-G-G-L-U-T-I-N-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /əˌɡluːtɪˈneɪ.ʃən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list