gratuitous
/ɡɹəˈtjuː.ɪt.əs/
"gratuitous" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“gratuitous” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #31,195 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #31,195
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Given freely; unearned.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | gratuitous |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɡɹəˈtjuː.ɪt.əs/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #31,195 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “gratuitous” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for gratuitous is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɡɹəˈtjuː.ɪt.əs/. Corpus data places it at rank #31,195 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for gratuitous, with forms such as "gartuitous", "ggratuitous", and "gratiutous". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. 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 Latin grātuītus (“free”), from Latin grātia (“favor”), grātus (“showing favor”). The correct English form is gratuitous, spelled G-R-A-T-U-I-T-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1Given freely; unearned.
- 2Unjustified or unnecessary; not called for by the circumstances.
Etymology
From Latin grātuītus (“free”), from Latin grātia (“favor”), grātus (“showing favor”).
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: gartuitous,ggratuitous,gratiutous,grattuitous,gratuiotus,gratuitosu,gratuitouss,gratuittous,gratuituos,gratutious,grautitous,grratuitous,grtauitous,rgatuitous
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of gratuitous - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "gratuitous"?
What does "gratuitous" mean?
What are common misspellings of "gratuitous"?
How do you pronounce "gratuitous"?
What is the origin of the word "gratuitous"?
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Using “gratuitous”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-R-A-T-U-I-T-O-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɡɹəˈtjuː.ɪt.əs/ (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
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.