hypertonia

noun

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

The verdict

“hypertonia” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An abnormal increase in tightness of muscle tone, common in cerebral palsy.

Key facts for hypertonia
PropertyValue
Headwordhypertonia
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “hypertonia” sits in English frequency

hypertonia falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

hypertonia is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An abnormal increase in tightness of muscle tone, common in cerebral palsy.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for hypertonia, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From New Latin hypertonia, from hyper- + Ancient Greek τόνος (tónos) + -ia. By surface analysis, hyper- + -tonia. The correct English form is hypertonia, spelled H-Y-P-E-R-T-O-N-I-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    An abnormal increase in tightness of muscle tone, common in cerebral palsy.

Etymology

From New Latin hypertonia, from hyper- + Ancient Greek τόνος (tónos) + -ia. By surface analysis, hyper- + -tonia.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hypertonia"?
"hypertonia" is spelled H-Y-P-E-R-T-O-N-I-A.
What does "hypertonia" mean?
As a noun, "hypertonia" means: An abnormal increase in tightness of muscle tone, common in cerebral palsy.
What is the origin of the word "hypertonia"?
From New Latin hypertonia, from hyper- + Ancient Greek τόνος (tónos) + -ia. By surface analysis, hyper- + -tonia. 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 “hypertonia”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is H-Y-P-E-R-T-O-N-I-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list