buprenorphine

/ˌbju.pɹəˈnɔɹˌfin/

//ˌbju.pɹəˈnɔɹˌfin// noun

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

The verdict

“buprenorphine” is uncommon English (frequency #73,938 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#73,938
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A semisynthetic narcotic analgesic that is administered in the form of its hydrochloride C₂₉H₄₁NO₄·HCl to control moderate to severe pain and treat opioid dependence.

Corpus desk

Index EN-buprenorphine · buprenorphine · English

buprenorphine · rank #73,938 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #73,938
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH bunching

Nearest frequency peer: bunching (-1 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 “buprenorphine”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for buprenorphine
PropertyValue
Headwordbuprenorphine
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌbju.pɹəˈnɔɹˌfin/
Letters13
Frequency rank#73,938
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “buprenorphine” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).buprenorphinefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “bunching” (#73,937), “caiman” (#73,940), “Caldecott” (#73,941). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “buprenorphine” is #73,938. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

buprenorphine is uncommon English at frequency #73,938 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌbju.pɹəˈnɔɹˌfin/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A semisynthetic narcotic analgesic that is administered in the form of its hydrochloride C₂₉H₄₁NO₄·HCl to control moderate to severe pain and treat opioid dependence.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for buprenorphine, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: Blend of (tert-)butyl + cyprenorphine. The correct English form is buprenorphine, spelled B-U-P-R-E-N-O-R-P-H-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A semisynthetic narcotic analgesic that is administered in the form of its hydrochloride C₂₉H₄₁NO₄·HCl to control moderate to severe pain and treat opioid dependence.

Etymology

Blend of (tert-)butyl + cyprenorphine.

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 "buprenorphine"?
"buprenorphine" is spelled B-U-P-R-E-N-O-R-P-H-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌbju.pɹəˈnɔɹˌfin/.
What does "buprenorphine" mean?
As a noun, "buprenorphine" means: A semisynthetic narcotic analgesic that is administered in the form of its hydrochloride C₂₉H₄₁NO₄·HCl to control moderate to severe pain and treat opioid dependence.
How do you pronounce "buprenorphine"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "buprenorphine" is /ˌbju.pɹəˈnɔɹˌfin/. 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 "buprenorphine"?
Blend of (tert-)butyl + cyprenorphine. 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 "buprenorphine", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list