counterargument

noun

"counterargument" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“counterargument” is uncommon English (frequency #99,129 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#99,129
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An argument that is opposed to another argument.

Corpus desk

Index EN-counterargument · counterargument · English

counterargument · rank #99,129 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #99,129
  • LEN-MEGA 15 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH crabapple

Nearest frequency peer: crabapple (+3 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 “counterargument”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for counterargument
PropertyValue
Headwordcounterargument
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters15
Frequency rank#99,129
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “counterargument” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).counterargumentfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “crabapple” (#99,132), “conjunctiva” (#99,123), “crake” (#99,135). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “counterargument” is #99,129. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

counterargument is uncommon English at frequency #99,129 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An argument that is opposed to another argument.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for counterargument, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From counter- + argument. The correct English form is counterargument, spelled C-O-U-N-T-E-R-A-R-G-U-M-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    An argument that is opposed to another argument.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Near-synonyms: rebuttal, refutation
  2. One argument is that "the virus has changed everything" and that people will work from home and travel much less, easing capacity pressures. But there is a counter argument whereby we may all discover that, longer-term, many jobs cannot after all be effectively carried out from home indefinitely.

Etymology

From counter- + argument.

This word in other languages

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 "counterargument"?
"counterargument" is spelled C-O-U-N-T-E-R-A-R-G-U-M-E-N-T.
What does "counterargument" mean?
As a noun, "counterargument" means: An argument that is opposed to another argument.
What is the origin of the word "counterargument"?
From counter- + argument. 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 "counterargument", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 15 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list