antepenultimate

Name: antepenultimate, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˌæntɪpɪnˈʌltɪmət/

//ˌæntɪpɪnˈʌltɪmət// adj

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“antepenultimate” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English: 15
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Two before the last, i.e., the one immediately before the penultimate, in a series.

Key facts for antepenultimate
Property	Value
Headword	antepenultimate
Language	English
Part of speech	Adjective
IPA	/ˌæntɪpɪnˈʌltɪmət/
Letters	15
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “antepenultimate” sits in English frequency

antepenultimate 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.

Rare enough to double-check

antepenultimate is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˌæntɪpɪnˈʌltɪmət/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Two before the last, i.e., the one immediately before the penultimate, in a series.".

Zero misspellings are on record for antepenultimate in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₂énts Proto-Indo-European *-i Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti Proto-Italic *anti Classical Latin ante Classical Latin ante-lbor. English ante- Latin paene Proto-Indo-Europe… The correct English form is antepenultimate, spelled A-N-T-E-P-E-N-U-L-T-I-M-A-T-E.

Definition

1
Two before the last, i.e., the one immediately before the penultimate, in a series.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₂énts Proto-Indo-European *-i Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti Proto-Italic *anti Classical Latin ante Classical Latin ante-lbor. English ante- Latin paene Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Italic *-tm̥mos Proto-Italic *oltm̥mos Latin ultimus Latin paenultimus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātuslbor. English -ate English penultimate English antepenultimate From ante- + penultimate, modelled on Latin antepaenultima/antepēnultima (syllaba) (“last syllable but two in a word”), from the feminine of antepaenultimus/antepēnultimus (“antepenultimate”).

Synonyms

peripenultimateprepenultimate propenultimatethird lastthird to lasttriultimate

This word in other languages

antepenúltimo(Español)antépénultième(Français)drittletzter(Deutsch)antepenúltimo(Português)

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 "antepenultimate"?

"antepenultimate" is spelled A-N-T-E-P-E-N-U-L-T-I-M-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌæntɪpɪnˈʌltɪmət/.

What does "antepenultimate" mean?

As an adjective, "antepenultimate" means: Two before the last, i.e., the one immediately before the penultimate, in a series.

How do you pronounce "antepenultimate"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "antepenultimate" is /ˌæntɪpɪnˈʌltɪmət/. 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 "antepenultimate"?

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 “antepenultimate”

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

The one correct English spelling is A-N-T-E-P-E-N-U-L-T-I-M-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /ˌæntɪpɪnˈʌltɪmət/ (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.