elocution

/ɛləˈkjuːʃən/

//ɛləˈkjuːʃən// noun

"elocution" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“elocution” is uncommon English (frequency #69,023 among 18,836 “E” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#69,023
frequency rank, English
18,836
“E” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The art of speaking, especially public speaking, with expert control of gesture and voice, diction (articulation and word choice), and usage.

Key facts for elocution
PropertyValue
Headwordelocution
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɛləˈkjuːʃən/
Letters9
Frequency rank#69,023
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “elocution” 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). elocution lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

elocution is uncommon English at frequency #69,023 among 18,836 “E” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ɛləˈkjuːʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The art of speaking, especially public speaking, with expert control of gesture and voice, diction (articulation and word choice), and usage.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for elocution, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English elocucioun, ellocucioun, from Late Latin ēlocutiōnem. Doublet of elocutio. The correct English form is elocution, spelled E-L-O-C-U-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The art of speaking, especially public speaking, with expert control of gesture and voice, diction (articulation and word choice), and usage.

Etymology

From Middle English elocucioun, ellocucioun, from Late Latin ēlocutiōnem. Doublet of elocutio.

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 "elocution"?
"elocution" is spelled E-L-O-C-U-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ɛləˈkjuːʃən/.
What does "elocution" mean?
As a noun, "elocution" means: The art of speaking, especially public speaking, with expert control of gesture and voice, diction (articulation and word choice), and usage.
How do you pronounce "elocution"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "elocution" is /ɛləˈkjuːʃən/. 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 "elocution"?
From Middle English elocucioun, ellocucioun, from Late Latin ēlocutiōnem. Doublet of elocutio. 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 “elocution”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is E-L-O-C-U-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ɛləˈkjuːʃən/ (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

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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