curvilinear

adj

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

The verdict

“curvilinear” is uncommon English (frequency #67,343 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#67,343
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having bends; curved; curvilineal.

Corpus desk

Index EN-curvilinear · curvilinear · English

curvilinear · rank #67,343 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #67,343
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cush

Nearest frequency peer: cush (+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 “curvilinear”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for curvilinear
PropertyValue
Headwordcurvilinear
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters11
Frequency rank#67,343
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “curvilinear” 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).curvilinearfalls 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: “cush” (#67,344), “crystallographic” (#67,341), “cytosol” (#67,346). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “curvilinear” is #67,343. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

curvilinear is uncommon English at frequency #67,343 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for curvilinear, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From curve + -i- + linear, compare curve, linear. The correct English form is curvilinear, spelled C-U-R-V-I-L-I-N-E-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having bends; curved; curvilineal.
  2. 2
    Formed by curved lines.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. the curvilinear motion of a thrown stone
  2. In early art rectilinear decoration marks an advance on curvilinear, which, in the long ages before pottery was thought of, would naturally be associated with the fibrous baskets that served as vessels.

Etymology

From curve + -i- + linear, compare curve, linear.

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 "curvilinear"?
"curvilinear" is spelled C-U-R-V-I-L-I-N-E-A-R.
What does "curvilinear" mean?
As an adjective, "curvilinear" means: Having bends; curved; curvilineal.
What is the origin of the word "curvilinear"?
From curve + -i- + linear, compare curve, linear. 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 "curvilinear", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list