laconic
/ləˈkɒnɪk/
"laconic" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“laconic” is an uncommon English word, ranked #60,225 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #60,225
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Communicative through the use of as few words as possible.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | laconic |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ləˈkɒnɪk/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #60,225 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “laconic” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for laconic is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ləˈkɒnɪk/. Corpus data places it at rank #60,225 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
laconic 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, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin Lacōnicus (“Spartan”), from Ancient Greek Λακωνικός (Lakōnikós, “Laconian”). Laconia was the region inhabited and ruled by the Spartans, who were known for their brevity in speech. The correct English form is laconic, spelled L-A-C-O-N-I-C.
Definition
- 1Communicative through the use of as few words as possible.
- 2Communicating through the use of as few words as possible.
- 3Laidback; casual; not intense.
Etymology
From Latin Lacōnicus (“Spartan”), from Ancient Greek Λακωνικός (Lakōnikós, “Laconian”). Laconia was the region inhabited and ruled by the Spartans, who were known for their brevity in speech.
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 "laconic"?
What does "laconic" mean?
How do you pronounce "laconic"?
What is the origin of the word "laconic"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “laconic”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-A-C-O-N-I-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ləˈkɒnɪk/ (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.