ciliary

/ˈsɪl.i.ə.ɹi/

//ˈsɪl.i.ə.ɹi// adj

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

"ciliary" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ciliary” is uncommon English (frequency #74,833 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#74,833
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of, pertaining to or involving cilia.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ciliary · ciliary · English

ciliary · rank #74,833 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #74,833
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH chupacabra

Nearest frequency peer: chupacabra (-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 “ciliary”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for ciliary
PropertyValue
Headwordciliary
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈsɪl.i.ə.ɹi/
Letters7
Frequency rank#74,833
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “ciliary” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).ciliaryfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “chupacabra” (#74,832), “cinematographic” (#74,834), “Chorlton” (#74,831). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “ciliary” is #74,833. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

ciliary is uncommon English at frequency #74,833 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈsɪl.i.ə.ɹi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for ciliary in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From cilium + -ary. The correct English form is ciliary, spelled C-I-L-I-A-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of, pertaining to or involving cilia.
  2. 2
    Of or pertaining to the eyelashes.
  3. 3
    Of or pertaining to the eyelid.
  4. 4
    Of or pertaining to the ciliary body.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how ciliary appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. ciliary movement
  2. In vitro and animal studies are exploring the effect of M. genitalium infection on the fallopian tube mucosa. Microscopic evidence of ciliary damage was demonstrated in human fallopian tube explants infected with M. genitalium, albeit the damage was more moderate than that seen with C. trachomatis or N. gonorrhoeae infection (Figure 2).

Etymology

From cilium + -ary.

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 "ciliary"?
"ciliary" is spelled C-I-L-I-A-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɪl.i.ə.ɹi/.
What does "ciliary" mean?
As an adjective, "ciliary" means: Of, pertaining to or involving cilia.
How do you pronounce "ciliary"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ciliary" is /ˈsɪl.i.ə.ɹi/. 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 "ciliary"?
From cilium + -ary. 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 "ciliary", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

commish#74,840coronel#74,849cravens#74,856calzone#74,804

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list