imprecation
/ˌɪm.pɹɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/
"imprecation" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“imprecation” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of imprecating, or invoking evil upon someone; a prayer that a curse or calamity may befall someone.
Corpus desk
Index EN-imprecation · imprecation · English
imprecation · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "I" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | imprecation |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌɪm.pɹɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “imprecation” in English
Rare enough to double-check
imprecation is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌɪm.pɹɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
imprecation has no tracked misspelling variants, 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 usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Latin imprecātiō (“calling down of curses”), from imprecor (“call down, invoke”). The correct English form is imprecation, spelled I-M-P-R-E-C-A-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1The act of imprecating, or invoking evil upon someone; a prayer that a curse or calamity may befall someone.
- 2A curse.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how imprecation appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Hear then this dreadful imprecation; hear it: / 'Tis lay'd on all; not any one exempt: […]
Her son turned to look at her as she reeled and swayed in the middle of the room, her fierce face convulsed with passion, her blotched arms raised high in imprecation. "May Gawd curse her forever," she shrieked.
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin imprecātiō (“calling down of curses”), from imprecor (“call down, invoke”).
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.