constitutional
/ˌkɒn.stɪˈtjuː.ʃ(ə)n.(ə)l/
"constitutional" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“constitutional” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,072 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #4,072
- frequency rank, English
- 14
- letters
- 21
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Belonging to, or inherent in, the constitution or structure of one's body or mind.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | constitutional |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌkɒn.stɪˈtjuː.ʃ(ə)n.(ə)l/ |
| Letters | 14 |
| Frequency rank | #4,072 |
| Misspellings tracked | 21 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “constitutional” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for constitutional is 14 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌkɒn.stɪˈtjuː.ʃ(ə)n.(ə)l/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,072 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 21 likely wrong-spelling variants for constitutional, with forms such as "cconstitutional", "cnostitutional", and "connstitutional". 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. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "constitutionally", "constitution", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *ḱóm From constitution + -al (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). Constitution is derived from Middle English constitucioun, constitucion (“edict, law, ordinance, regulation, rule, statute; body of laws or rules, or customs; … The correct English form is constitutional, spelled C-O-N-S-T-I-T-U-T-I-O-N-A-L.
Definition
- 1Belonging to, or inherent in, the constitution or structure of one's body or mind.
- 2For the benefit of one's constitution or health.
- 3Relating to the constitution or composition of something; essential, fundamental.
- 4Relating to a legal or political constitution (“the basic law of a nation or institution; the formal or informal system of primary principles and laws that regulates a government or other institution”).
- 5In compliance with or valid under a legal or political constitution.
- 6Of a monarch: having a purely ceremonial role, or possessing powers limited by a constitution rather than plenary or unlimited powers.
Etymology
PIE word *ḱóm From constitution + -al (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives). Constitution is derived from Middle English constitucioun, constitucion (“edict, law, ordinance, regulation, rule, statute; body of laws or rules, or customs; body of fundamental principles; principle or rule (of science); creation”) from Old French constitucion (modern French constitution), a learned borrowing from Latin cōnstitūtiō, cōnstitūtiōnem (“character, constitution, disposition, nature; definition; point in dispute; order, regulation; arrangement, system”), from cōnstituō (“to establish, set up; to confirm; to decide, resolve”) (from con- (prefix indicating a being or bringing together of several objects) + statuō (“to set up, station; to establish; to determine, fix”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand (up)”))) + -tiō (suffix forming nouns relating to actions or the results of actions), -tiōnem (accusative singular of -tiō).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: cconstitutional,cnostitutional,connstitutional,consittutional,consstitutional,constittuional,constittutional,constituitonal,constitutinoal,constitutioanl,constitutionall,constitutionla,constitutionnal,constitutoinal,constituttional,constiuttional,consttitutional,consttiutional,contsitutional,cosntitutional,ocnstitutional
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of constitutional - 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 "constitutional"?
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Using “constitutional”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-N-S-T-I-T-U-T-I-O-N-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌkɒn.stɪˈtjuː.ʃ(ə)n.(ə)l/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “constitutionally” - see the side-by-side comparison. constitutional vs constitutionally
- 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.