apoplexy
/ˈæp.ə.plɛk.si/
"apoplexy" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“apoplexy” is an uncommon English word, ranked #73,865 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #73,865
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Unconsciousness or incapacity resulting from a cerebral hemorrhage or stroke.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | apoplexy |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈæp.ə.plɛk.si/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #73,865 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “apoplexy” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for apoplexy is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈæp.ə.plɛk.si/. Corpus data places it at rank #73,865 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for apoplexy, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: Late Middle English from Old French apoplexie, from Late Latin apoplexia, from Ancient Greek ἀποπληξία (apoplēxía, “madness; apoplexy, paralysis”), from ἀποπλήσσω (apoplḗssō, “to cripple by a stroke”) + -ία (-ía, nominal suffix). See plague. The correct English form is apoplexy, spelled A-P-O-P-L-E-X-Y.
Definition
- 1Unconsciousness or incapacity resulting from a cerebral hemorrhage or stroke.
- 2Unconsciousness or incapacity resulting from a cerebral hemorrhage or stroke.
- 3A state of intense and almost uncontrollable anger.
Etymology
Late Middle English from Old French apoplexie, from Late Latin apoplexia, from Ancient Greek ἀποπληξία (apoplēxía, “madness; apoplexy, paralysis”), from ἀποπλήσσω (apoplḗssō, “to cripple by a stroke”) + -ία (-ía, nominal suffix). See plague.
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); 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
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Using “apoplexy”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-P-O-P-L-E-X-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈæp.ə.plɛk.si/ (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.