categorical
/ˌkætəˈɡɔɹɪk(ə)l/adjective, noun
categorical is spelled C-A-T-E-G-O-R-I-C-A-L: 11 letters and 5 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,636th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, categorical means “Absolute; having no exception” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in categorical?
| Letters | 11: C-A-T-E-G-O-R-I-C-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 33,636th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is categorical?
Categorical appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,636th 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 categorical?
- UK /ˌkætəˈɡɒɹɪk(ə)l/
- US /ˌkætəˈɡɔɹɪk(ə)l/
- /ˌkæhəˈɡaɹɪk(ə)l/
Categorical has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-categorical.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of categorical
- more categorical comparative
- most categorical superlative
- categoricals plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does categorical mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Absolute; having no exception.
- 2
Of, pertaining to, or using a category or categories.
noun
- 1
A categorical proposition.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Categorical in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | catégorique , catégoriel, catégorielle |
| German | kategorisch |
| Portuguese | categórico, taxativo |
| Spanish | tajante, taxativo |
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 categorical come from?
From Late Latin catēgoricus + -al. By surface analysis, category + -ical.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).