cataplexy
/ˈkætəˌplɛksi/noun
cataplexy is spelled C-A-T-A-P-L-E-X-Y: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 18 million words in written English, the 127,184th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, cataplexy means “An abrupt loss of muscle tone, sometimes associated with narcolepsy” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of cataplexy is cataplexies.
How many letters and syllables are in cataplexy?
| Letters | 9: C-A-T-A-P-L-E-X-Y |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 18 million words; the 127,184th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is cataplexy?
Cataplexy appears about once in every 18 million words in written English, the 127,184th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce cataplexy?
- /ˈkætəˌplɛksi/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Gt59514-cataplexy.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of cataplexy
- cataplexies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cataplexy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An abrupt loss of muscle tone, sometimes associated with narcolepsy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cataplexy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense abrupt loss of muscle tone:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Kataplexie |
| Spanish | cataplexia |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does cataplexy come from?
From German Kataplexie, from Ancient Greek κατάπληξις (katáplēxis), from κατά (katá, “down”) + πλῆξῐς (plêxĭs, “blow, act of striking”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).