certiorari

/ˌsɝʃəˈɹɛəɹaɪ/

//ˌsɝʃəˈɹɛəɹaɪ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"certiorari" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“certiorari” is uncommon English (frequency #55,313 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#55,313
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A grant of the right of an appeal to be heard by an appellate court where that court has discretion to choose which appeals it will hear.

Corpus desk

Index EN-certiorari · certiorari · English

certiorari · rank #55,313 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #55,313
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH CDO

Nearest frequency peer: CDO (-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 “certiorari”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for certiorari
PropertyValue
Headwordcertiorari
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌsɝʃəˈɹɛəɹaɪ/
Letters10
Frequency rank#55,313
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “certiorari” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).certiorarifalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “CDO” (#55,312), “CBF” (#55,311), “ceviche” (#55,315). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “certiorari” is #55,313. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

certiorari is uncommon English at frequency #55,313 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌsɝʃəˈɹɛəɹaɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for certiorari, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From the present passive infinitive of Latin certiōrō (“to make certain”), from the words used at the beginning of these writs when they were written in Latin: certiorārī volumus (“[we] wish to be made certain”). The correct English form is certiorari, spelled C-E-R-T-I-O-R-A-R-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    A grant of the right of an appeal to be heard by an appellate court where that court has discretion to choose which appeals it will hear.
  2. 2
    A grant of review of a government action by a court with discretion to make such a review.

Etymology

From the present passive infinitive of Latin certiōrō (“to make certain”), from the words used at the beginning of these writs when they were written in Latin: certiorārī volumus (“[we] wish to be made certain”).

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 "certiorari"?
"certiorari" is spelled C-E-R-T-I-O-R-A-R-I. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌsɝʃəˈɹɛəɹaɪ/.
What does "certiorari" mean?
As a noun, "certiorari" means: A grant of the right of an appeal to be heard by an appellate court where that court has discretion to choose which appeals it will hear.
How do you pronounce "certiorari"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "certiorari" is /ˌsɝʃəˈɹɛəɹaɪ/. 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 "certiorari"?
From the present passive infinitive of Latin certiōrō (“to make certain”), from the words used at the beginning of these writs when they were written in Latin: certiorārī volumus (“[we] wish to be made certain”). 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 "certiorari", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Caravaggio#55,307Burlingame#55,300depreciate#55,375Athanasius#55,249

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list