edification

/ˌɛdɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/

//ˌɛdɪfɪˈkeɪʃən// noun

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

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

The verdict

“edification” is uncommon English (frequency #67,393 among 2,246 “E” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#67,393
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of edifying, or the state of being edified or improved; a building process, especially morally, emotionally, or spiritually.

Corpus desk

Index EN-edification · edification · English

edification · rank #67,393 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #67,393
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH Edwardsville

Nearest frequency peer: Edwardsville (+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 “edification”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for edification
PropertyValue
Headwordedification
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌɛdɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/
Letters11
Frequency rank#67,393
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “edification” 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).edificationfalls 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: “Edwardsville” (#67,394), “EET” (#67,396), “electroshock” (#67,399). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “edification” is #67,393. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

edification is uncommon English at frequency #67,393 among 2,246 “E” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌɛdɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for edification, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French, from Latin aedificationem (“building, construction”), an accusative form of aedificatio, from aedificare. The correct English form is edification, spelled E-D-I-F-I-C-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of edifying, or the state of being edified or improved; a building process, especially morally, emotionally, or spiritually.
  2. 2
    A building or edifice.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Let euery one of vs please his neighbour for his good to edification.
  2. Caterina Pachetti had been a very pretty women, which she remembered more to her own edification than to that of her friends.

Etymology

From Old French, from Latin aedificationem (“building, construction”), an accusative form of aedificatio, from aedificare.

This word in other languages

édification(Français)Erbauung(Deutsch)edificação(Português)

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 "edification"?
"edification" is spelled E-D-I-F-I-C-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌɛdɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/.
What does "edification" mean?
As a noun, "edification" means: The act of edifying, or the state of being edified or improved; a building process, especially morally, emotionally, or spiritually.
How do you pronounce "edification"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "edification" is /ˌɛdɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/. 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 "edification"?
From Old French, from Latin aedificationem (“building, construction”), an accusative form of aedificatio, from aedificare. 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 "edification", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

elucidation#67,403curvilinear#67,343compositing#67,323chancellery#67,302

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list