exhumation

/ˌɛks.hjuːˈmeɪ.ʃən/

//ˌɛks.hjuːˈmeɪ.ʃən// noun

"exhumation" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“exhumation” is uncommon English (frequency #62,878 among 2,246 “E” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#62,878
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of digging up that which has been buried.

Corpus desk

Index EN-exhumation · exhumation · English

exhumation · rank #62,878 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #62,878
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH evangelicalism

Nearest frequency peer: evangelicalism (-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 “exhumation”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for exhumation
PropertyValue
Headwordexhumation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌɛks.hjuːˈmeɪ.ʃən/
Letters10
Frequency rank#62,878
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “exhumation” in English

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).exhumationfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “evangelicalism” (#62,877), “evanescence” (#62,876), “Escalante” (#62,875). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “exhumation” is #62,878. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

exhumation is uncommon English at frequency #62,878 among 2,246 “E” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌɛks.hjuːˈmeɪ.ʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The act of digging up that which has been buried.".

exhumation doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is exhumation, spelled E-X-H-U-M-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of digging up that which has been buried.

Synonyms

Antonyms

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 "exhumation"?
"exhumation" is spelled E-X-H-U-M-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌɛks.hjuːˈmeɪ.ʃən/.
What does "exhumation" mean?
As a noun, "exhumation" means: The act of digging up that which has been buried.
How do you pronounce "exhumation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "exhumation" is /ˌɛks.hjuːˈmeɪ.ʃən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "exhumation" come from?
"exhumation" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "exhumation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list