emetic

/əˈmɛt.ɪk/

//əˈmɛt.ɪk// adj

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

"emetic" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“emetic” is uncommon English (frequency #94,828 among 18,836 “E” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#94,828
frequency rank, English
18,836
“E” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Causing nausea and vomiting.

Key facts for emetic
PropertyValue
Headwordemetic
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/əˈmɛt.ɪk/
Letters6
Frequency rank#94,828
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “emetic” 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). emetic 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

emetic is uncommon English at frequency #94,828 among 18,836 “E” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /əˈmɛt.ɪk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Causing nausea and vomiting.".

emetic has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French émétique, from Vulgar Latin *emeticus, from Ancient Greek ἐμετικός (emetikós), from ἔμετος (émetos, “vomit”); by surface analysis, em(esis) + -etic. The correct English form is emetic, spelled E-M-E-T-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Causing nausea and vomiting.

Etymology

From French émétique, from Vulgar Latin *emeticus, from Ancient Greek ἐμετικός (emetikós), from ἔμετος (émetos, “vomit”); by surface analysis, em(esis) + -etic.

This word in other languages

emético(Español)émétique(Français)emetisch(Deutsch)

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 "emetic"?
"emetic" is spelled E-M-E-T-I-C. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈmɛt.ɪk/.
What does "emetic" mean?
As an adjective, "emetic" means: Causing nausea and vomiting.
How do you pronounce "emetic"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "emetic" is /əˈmɛt.ɪk/. 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 "emetic"?
From French émétique, from Vulgar Latin *emeticus, from Ancient Greek ἐμετικός (emetikós), from ἔμετος (émetos, “vomit”); by surface analysis, em(esis) + -etic. 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 “emetic”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is E-M-E-T-I-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /əˈmɛt.ɪk/ (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