cruciferous

/kɹuˈsɪfəɹəs/

//kɹuˈsɪfəɹəs// adj

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

"cruciferous" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cruciferous” is uncommon English (frequency #99,139 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#99,139
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of or relating to the crucifer plants or products from these plants; of the family Cruciferae, the cabbage family, including cabbage and mustard.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cruciferous · cruciferous · English

cruciferous · rank #99,139 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #99,139
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Cristi

Nearest frequency peer: Cristi (-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 “cruciferous”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cruciferous
PropertyValue
Headwordcruciferous
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/kɹuˈsɪfəɹəs/
Letters11
Frequency rank#99,139
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cruciferous” 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).cruciferousfalls 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: “Cristi” (#99,138), “crustacea” (#99,140), “crake” (#99,135). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cruciferous” is #99,139. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cruciferous is uncommon English at frequency #99,139 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /kɹuˈsɪfəɹəs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

cruciferous has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Latin crucifer (“cross-bearing”) + -ous. By surface analysis, crucifer + -ous. The correct English form is cruciferous, spelled C-R-U-C-I-F-E-R-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of or relating to the crucifer plants or products from these plants; of the family Cruciferae, the cabbage family, including cabbage and mustard.
  2. 2
    Bearing a cross.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. And cruciferous vegetables—broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, cabbage—are loaded with sulforaphane.

Etymology

From Late Latin crucifer (“cross-bearing”) + -ous. By surface analysis, crucifer + -ous.

This word in other languages

crucifère(Français)

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 "cruciferous"?
"cruciferous" is spelled C-R-U-C-I-F-E-R-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /kɹuˈsɪfəɹəs/.
What does "cruciferous" mean?
As an adjective, "cruciferous" means: Of or relating to the crucifer plants or products from these plants; of the family Cruciferae, the cabbage family, including cabbage and mustard.
How do you pronounce "cruciferous"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cruciferous" is /kɹuˈsɪfəɹəs/. 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 "cruciferous"?
From Late Latin crucifer (“cross-bearing”) + -ous. By surface analysis, crucifer + -ous. 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 "cruciferous", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cyclohexane#99,150conjunctiva#99,123collisional#99,119circularity#99,105

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list