cautionary
/ˈkɔːʃənəɹi/
"cautionary" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cautionary” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #30,726 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #30,726
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Serving to caution or warn; admonitory
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cautionary |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈkɔːʃənəɹi/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #30,726 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “cautionary” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for cautionary is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkɔːʃənəɹi/. Corpus data places it at rank #30,726 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for cautionary, with forms such as "acutionary", "catuionary", and "cauitonary". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Medieval Latin cautiōnārius. The correct English form is cautionary, spelled C-A-U-T-I-O-N-A-R-Y.
Definition
- 1Serving to caution or warn; admonitory
- 2Serving to ward off; preventive
- 3Held as security or hostage
Etymology
Borrowed from Medieval Latin cautiōnārius.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: acutionary,catuionary,cauitonary,cautinoary,cautioanry,cautionarry,cautionaryy,cautionayr,cautionnary,cautionray,cautoinary,cauttionary,ccautionary,cuationary
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cautionary - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "cautionary"?
What does "cautionary" mean?
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Using “cautionary”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-A-U-T-I-O-N-A-R-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkɔːʃənəɹi/ (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.