figuration

/ˌfɪɡ.jəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/

//ˌfɪɡ.jəˈɹeɪ.ʃən// noun

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

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

The verdict

“figuration” is uncommon English (frequency #80,454 among 18,613 “F” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#80,454
frequency rank, English
18,613
“F” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The act of giving figure or determinate form.

Corpus desk

Index EN-figuration · figuration · English

figuration · rank #80,454 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #80,454
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 18,613
  • PHOTO-FINISH FHE

Nearest frequency peer: FHE (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “figuration”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “figuration” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for figuration
PropertyValue
Headwordfiguration
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌfɪɡ.jəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/
Letters10
Frequency rank#80,454
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “figuration” 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). figuration 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

figuration is uncommon English at frequency #80,454 among 18,613 “F” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌfɪɡ.jəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for figuration in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Late Middle English figuracion, from Middle French figuration, from Latin figūrō (“to form”). Equivalent to figurate + -ion. The correct English form is figuration, spelled F-I-G-U-R-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of giving figure or determinate form.
  2. 2
    Form, outline or boundaries.
  3. 3
    Ornamentation or decoration, especially by the addition of figures.
  4. 4
    Mixture of concords and discords.
  5. 5
    Representation through visual forms.
  6. 6
    A structure through which people are joined, or the process of constructing such structures.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. […]a shift to modernist building typologies in the early 1950s led to the abandonment of symmetry, centrality, and figuration. Since the 1980s, big-box typologies, frosted with postmodern architectural veneer, have dominated.
  2. Here and throughout, variation infuses the music, Chopin’s innovative, elastic figuration masking the underlying similarity of bars 23 and 25.

Etymology

Late Middle English figuracion, from Middle French figuration, from Latin figūrō (“to form”). Equivalent to figurate + -ion.

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "figuration"?
"figuration" is spelled F-I-G-U-R-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌfɪɡ.jəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/.
What does "figuration" mean?
As a noun, "figuration" means: The act of giving figure or determinate form.
How do you pronounce "figuration"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "figuration" is /ˌfɪɡ.jəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/. 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 "figuration"?
Late Middle English figuracion, from Middle French figuration, from Latin figūrō (“to form”). Equivalent to figurate + -ion. 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 "figuration", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

furosemide#80,470egyptology#80,417determiner#80,380hereabouts#80,528
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