evolutionary

/ˌiː.vəˈl(j)uː.ʃən.ɹi/

//ˌiː.vəˈl(j)uː.ʃən.ɹi// adj

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

"evolutionary" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“evolutionary” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,330. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,330
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
17
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of or relating to the biological theory of evolution.

Corpus desk

Index EN-evolutionary · evolutionary · English

evolutionary · rank #9,330 · 17 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,330
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-7 7 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH enzyme

Nearest frequency peer: enzyme (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “evolutionary”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “evolutionary” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for evolutionary
PropertyValue
Headwordevolutionary
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌiː.vəˈl(j)uː.ʃən.ɹi/
Letters12
Frequency rank#9,330
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “evolutionary”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).evolutionarylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “enzyme” (#9,329), “endure” (#9,328), “electron” (#9,327). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “evolutionary” is #9,330. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around evolutionary (IPA /ˌiː.vəˈl(j)uː.ʃən.ɹi/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #9,330 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for evolutionary, with forms such as "eovlutionary", "evloutionary", and "evollutionary". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From evolution + -ary. The correct English form is evolutionary, spelled E-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N-A-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of or relating to the biological theory of evolution.
  2. 2
    Having formal similarities to the biological theory of evolution.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The evolutionary history of marine mammals includes land-dwelling ancestors.
  2. It is likely that the long evolutionary trajectory of Mycoplasma went from a reductive autotroph to oxidative heterotroph to a cell-wall–defective degenerate parasite. This evolutionary trajectory assumes the simplicity to complexity route of biogenesis, a point of view that is not universally accepted.

Etymology

From evolution + -ary.

Synonyms

evolutional

Antonyms

nonevolutionalnon-evolutionalnonevolutionarynon-evolutionary

This word in other languages

évolutif(Français)evolutionär(Deutsch)evolutivo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eovlutionary
  • evloutionary
  • evollutionary
  • evoltuionary
  • evoluitonary
  • evolutinoary
  • evolutioanry
  • evolutionarry
  • evolutionaryy
  • evolutionayr
  • evolutionnary
  • evolutionray
  • evolutoinary
  • evoluttionary
  • evoultionary
  • evvolutionary
  • veolutionary

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of evolutionary - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

eovlutionary2evloutionary2evollutionary1evoltuionary2evoluitonary2evolutinoary2evolutioanry2evolutionarry1
Edit distance from "evolutionary"

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 "evolutionary"?
"evolutionary" is spelled E-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N-A-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌiː.vəˈl(j)uː.ʃən.ɹi/.
What does "evolutionary" mean?
As an adjective, "evolutionary" means: Of or relating to the biological theory of evolution.
What are common misspellings of "evolutionary"?
Common misspellings include "eovlutionary", "evloutionary", "evollutionary", "evoltuionary", "evoluitonary". The correct spelling is "evolutionary".
How do you pronounce "evolutionary"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "evolutionary" is /ˌiː.vəˈl(j)uː.ʃən.ɹi/. 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 "evolutionary"?
From evolution + -ary. 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 "evolutionary", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Indianapolis#9,349congregation#9,308collectively#9,301bibliography#9,288

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

discovering17 variantsmarketplace17 variantsmethodology17 variantsadvancement17 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list