counterfactual
/ˌkaʊntɚˈfæktʃuəl/
"counterfactual" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“counterfactual” is an uncommon English word, ranked #65,013 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #65,013
- frequency rank, English
- 14
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Contrary to known or agreed facts; untrue.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | counterfactual |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌkaʊntɚˈfæktʃuəl/ |
| Letters | 14 |
| Frequency rank | #65,013 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “counterfactual” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for counterfactual is 14 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌkaʊntɚˈfæktʃuəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #65,013 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for counterfactual, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From counter- + factual. The correct English form is counterfactual, spelled C-O-U-N-T-E-R-F-A-C-T-U-A-L.
Definition
- 1Contrary to known or agreed facts; untrue.
- 2Of or in comparison to a hypothetical state of the world.
Etymology
From counter- + factual.
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
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Using “counterfactual”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-U-N-T-E-R-F-A-C-T-U-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌkaʊntɚˈfæktʃuəl/ (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.