catatonia
/ˌkætəˈtoʊniə/
"catatonia" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“catatonia” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A severe psychiatric condition, often associated with schizophrenia, characterized by a tendency to remain in a rigid state of stupor for long periods which give way to short periods of extreme agi...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | catatonia |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌkætəˈtoʊniə/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “catatonia” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
catatonia is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌkætəˈtoʊniə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for catatonia in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From international scientific vocabulary, from German Katatonie, from New Latin catatonia, from a Greek word meaning to stretch tight. By surface analysis, cata- + tone + -ia. The correct English form is catatonia, spelled C-A-T-A-T-O-N-I-A.
Definition
- 1A severe psychiatric condition, often associated with schizophrenia, characterized by a tendency to remain in a rigid state of stupor for long periods which give way to short periods of extreme agitation.
- 2A frozen, unresponsive state, as of electronic equipment.
Etymology
From international scientific vocabulary, from German Katatonie, from New Latin catatonia, from a Greek word meaning to stretch tight. By surface analysis, cata- + tone + -ia.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "catatonia"?
What does "catatonia" mean?
How do you pronounce "catatonia"?
What is the origin of the word "catatonia"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “catatonia”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-A-T-A-T-O-N-I-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌkætəˈtoʊniə/ (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.