effectual
/iˈfɛkt͡ʃuəl/
"effectual" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“effectual” is an uncommon English word, ranked #63,585 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #63,585
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Producing the intended result; entirely adequate.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | effectual |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /iˈfɛkt͡ʃuəl/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #63,585 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “effectual” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for effectual is 9 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /iˈfɛkt͡ʃuəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #63,585 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Producing the intended result; entirely adequate.".
No misspelling variants are generated for effectual in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English effectual, effectuel, from Old French effectuel, from Late Latin effectualis. The correct English form is effectual, spelled E-F-F-E-C-T-U-A-L.
Definition
- 1Producing the intended result; entirely adequate.
Etymology
From Middle English effectual, effectuel, from Old French effectuel, from Late Latin effectualis.
Antonyms
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
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Using “effectual”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-F-F-E-C-T-U-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /iˈfɛkt͡ʃuəl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.