litigious

/lɪˈtɪd͡ʒəs/

//lɪˈtɪd͡ʒəs// adj

"litigious" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“litigious” is uncommon English (frequency #58,154 among 2,297 “L” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#58,154
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of or relating to litigation.

Corpus desk

Index EN-litigious · litigious · English

litigious · rank #58,154 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #58,154
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH Lisburn

Nearest frequency peer: Lisburn (-2 rank slots)

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.

Long-tail ranks near “litigious”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “litigious” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for litigious
PropertyValue
Headwordlitigious
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/lɪˈtɪd͡ʒəs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#58,154
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “litigious” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).litigiousfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Lisburn” (#58,152), “liquefaction” (#58,151), “likening” (#58,150). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “litigious” is #58,154. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

litigious is uncommon English at frequency #58,154 among 2,297 “L” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /lɪˈtɪd͡ʒəs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

litigious doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English litigious, from Latin lītigiōsus. Compare Middle French litigieux. The correct English form is litigious, spelled L-I-T-I-G-I-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of or relating to litigation.
  2. 2
    Inclined to engage in lawsuits.
  3. 3
    Argumentative or combative.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how litigious appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. This vvould of Neceſſity, breed an infinite Number of Brangles and litigious Suits in the Spiritual Courts, and put the vvretched Paſtor at perpetual Variance vvith his vvhole Pariſh.
  2. Tearing a page out of Monsanto's own playbook, the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT), an advocacy group whose mandate is to represent the public's interest in the patent system, filed suit (PDF) on behalf of 60 organic farmers, small farm organizations, and seed businesses this week against the litigious agrichemical and genetically modified (GM) seed giant.

Etymology

From Middle English litigious, from Latin lītigiōsus. Compare Middle French litigieux.

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 "litigious"?
"litigious" is spelled L-I-T-I-G-I-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /lɪˈtɪd͡ʒəs/.
What does "litigious" mean?
As an adjective, "litigious" means: Of or relating to litigation.
How do you pronounce "litigious"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "litigious" is /lɪˈtɪd͡ʒəs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "litigious"?
From Middle English litigious, from Latin lītigiōsus. Compare Middle French litigieux. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "litigious", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list