ligation
/lɪˈɡeɪʃən/
"ligation" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ligation” is uncommon English (frequency #52,460 among 16,425 “L” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #52,460
- frequency rank, English
- 16,425
- “L” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Something that ties, a ligature.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ligation |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /lɪˈɡeɪʃən/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #52,460 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ligation” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
ligation is uncommon English at frequency #52,460 among 16,425 “L” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /lɪˈɡeɪʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for ligation in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Late Latin ligatio, ligationis, from Latin ligo. Doublet of liaison. The correct English form is ligation, spelled L-I-G-A-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1Something that ties, a ligature.
- 2The act of tying, of applying a ligature.
- 3The state of having a ligature, of being tied.
- 4The act of tying off or sealing a blood vessel, fallopian tube, etc during surgery; act of ligating.
- 5The formation of a complex by reaction with a ligand.
Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin ligatio, ligationis, from Latin ligo. Doublet of liaison.
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 "ligation"?
What does "ligation" mean?
How do you pronounce "ligation"?
What is the origin of the word "ligation"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “ligation”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-I-G-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /lɪˈɡeɪʃən/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.