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anacoluthon

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Detailed reference entry for the English word "anacoluthon", 11-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Wiktionary, and usage frequency ranked against an open word-frequency list covering the top 100,000 English words. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "anacoluthon" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "anacoluthon" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

The verdict

“anacoluthon” 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
11
letters

Dominant Wiktionary sense: A sentence or clause that is grammatically inconsistent, especially with respect to the type of clausal or phrasal complement for the initial clause.

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Key facts for anacoluthon
PropertyValue
Headwordanacoluthon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ænəkəˈluːθɒn/
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “anacoluthon” sits in English frequency

anacoluthon 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 anacoluthon is 11 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ænəkəˈluːθɒn/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No misspelling variants are generated for anacoluthon in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Latin anacolūthon, from Ancient Greek ἀνακόλουθον (anakólouthon, “without sequence, anomalous [of inflections or grammatical constructions]”), from ἀ(ν)- (a(n)-, “un-”) + ἀκόλουθος (akólouthos, “following”). Compare English non sequitur, from an a… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is anacoluthon, spelled A-N-A-C-O-L-U-T-H-O-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A sentence or clause that is grammatically inconsistent, especially with respect to the type of clausal or phrasal complement for the initial clause.
  2. 2
    Intentional use of such a structure.

Etymology

From Late Latin anacolūthon, from Ancient Greek ἀνακόλουθον (anakólouthon, “without sequence, anomalous [of inflections or grammatical constructions]”), from ἀ(ν)- (a(n)-, “un-”) + ἀκόλουθος (akólouthos, “following”). Compare English non sequitur, from an analogous Latin phrase, denoting a different but related concept.

This word in other languages

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "anacoluthon"?
"anacoluthon" is spelled A-N-A-C-O-L-U-T-H-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ænəkəˈluːθɒn/.
What does "anacoluthon" mean?
As a noun, "anacoluthon" means: A sentence or clause that is grammatically inconsistent, especially with respect to the type of clausal or phrasal complement for the initial clause.
How do you pronounce "anacoluthon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "anacoluthon" is /ænəkəˈluːθɒn/. 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 "anacoluthon"?
From Late Latin anacolūthon, from Ancient Greek ἀνακόλουθον (anakólouthon, “without sequence, anomalous [of inflections or grammatical constructions]”), from ἀ(ν)- (a(n)-, “un-”) + ἀκόλουθος (akólouthos, “following”). Compare English non sequitur,... 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 “anacoluthon”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is A-N-A-C-O-L-U-T-H-O-N — every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ænəkəˈluːθɒn/ (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

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter A in our English index:

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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.