assignation

/æsɪɡˈneɪʃən/

//æsɪɡˈneɪʃən// noun

"assignation" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“assignation” is uncommon English (frequency #87,036 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#87,036
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An appointment for a meeting, generally of a romantic or sexual nature.

Corpus desk

Index EN-assignation · assignation · English

assignation · rank #87,036 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #87,036
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH Arvid

Nearest frequency peer: Arvid (-3 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 “assignation”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for assignation
PropertyValue
Headwordassignation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/æsɪɡˈneɪʃən/
Letters11
Frequency rank#87,036
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “assignation” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).assignationfalls 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: “Arvid” (#87,033), “arris” (#87,032), “attenuator” (#87,041). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “assignation” is #87,036. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

assignation is uncommon English at frequency #87,036 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /æsɪɡˈneɪʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for assignation, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English assignacioun, from Old French assignacion, from Latin assīgnātiō. The correct English form is assignation, spelled A-S-S-I-G-N-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    An appointment for a meeting, generally of a romantic or sexual nature.
  2. 2
    The act of assigning or allotting; apportionment.
  3. 3
    A making over by transfer of title; assignment.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. While nymphs take treats, or assignations give.
  2. As soon as Mr. Barville saw me, he got up, with a visible air of pleasure and surprize, and saluting me, asked Mrs. Cole if it was possible that so fine and delicate a creature would voluntarily submit to such sufferings and rigours as were the subject of his assignation.

Etymology

From Middle English assignacioun, from Old French assignacion, from Latin assīgnātiō.

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 "assignation"?
"assignation" is spelled A-S-S-I-G-N-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /æsɪɡˈneɪʃən/.
What does "assignation" mean?
As a noun, "assignation" means: An appointment for a meeting, generally of a romantic or sexual nature.
How do you pronounce "assignation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "assignation" is /æsɪɡˈneɪʃən/. 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 "assignation"?
From Middle English assignacioun, from Old French assignacion, from Latin assīgnātiō. 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 "assignation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list