downregulation

noun

"downregulation" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“downregulation” is an uncommon English word, ranked #98,039 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#98,039
frequency rank, English
14
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The suppression of a response to a stimulus

Key facts for downregulation
PropertyValue
Headworddownregulation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters14
Frequency rank#98,039
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “downregulation” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for downregulation is 14 letters long, classified as a noun. Corpus data places it at rank #98,039 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.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for downregulation, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. 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 down- + regulation. The correct English form is downregulation, spelled D-O-W-N-R-E-G-U-L-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The suppression of a response to a stimulus
  2. 2
    The process, in the regulation of gene expression, in which the number, or activity of receptors decreases in order to decrease sensitivity

Etymology

From down- + regulation.

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 "downregulation"?
"downregulation" is spelled D-O-W-N-R-E-G-U-L-A-T-I-O-N.
What does "downregulation" mean?
As a noun, "downregulation" means: The suppression of a response to a stimulus
What is the origin of the word "downregulation"?
From down- + regulation. 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.

Using “downregulation”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is D-O-W-N-R-E-G-U-L-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list