distillation
/ˌdɪstɪˈleɪʃən/noun
distillation is spelled D-I-S-T-I-L-L-A-T-I-O-N: 12 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,556th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, distillation means “The act of falling in drops, or the act of pouring out in drops” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of distillation is distillations.
How many letters and syllables are in distillation?
| Letters | 12: D-I-S-T-I-L-L-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.0 times per million words; the 28,556th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is distillation?
Distillation appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,556th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce distillation?
- UK /dɪstɪˈleɪʃən/
- US /ˌdɪstɪˈleɪʃən/
- Australia /dɪstɪˈlæɪʃən/
Distillation has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-distillation.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-distillation.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with distillation?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as distillation from its last stressed vowel (/eɪʃən/):
- situation
- association
- population
- administration
- operation
- organization
- application
- location
- generation
- foundation
- conversation
- investigation
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of distillation
- distillations plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does distillation mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act of falling in drops, or the act of pouring out in drops.
- 2
That which falls in drops.
- 3
Purification through repeated or continuous distilling; rectification.
- 4
Separation of petroleum into specific hydrocarbon groups; fractionation.
- 5
The substance extracted by distilling.
- 6
A technique in which a neural network is trained on the outputs or behaviour of a more complex model in order to transfer selected knowledge and capabilities to a smaller, more focused, or more efficient model.
- 7
A model produced by such a process.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Distillation in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Portuguese | gotejamento , destilação , destilado |
| French | distillation |
| German | Destillation , Destillat |
| Spanish | destilación , destilado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does distillation come from?
From Middle English distillacioun, from Anglo-Norman distillacioun, from Latin distīllātiōnem, accusative of distīllātiō.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).