naloxone

Name: naloxone, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/nəˈlɒk.səʊn/

//nəˈlɒk.səʊn// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“naloxone” is uncommon English (frequency #51,866 among 24,391 “N” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,866
frequency rank, English: 24,391
“N” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An opioid inverse agonist used to counter the effects of an overdose on opioids (such as heroin or morphine).

Key facts for naloxone
Property	Value
Headword	naloxone
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/nəˈlɒk.səʊn/
Letters	8
Frequency rank	#51,866
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “naloxone” sits in English frequency

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

#51,866

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

naloxone is uncommon English at frequency #51,866 among 24,391 “N” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /nəˈlɒk.səʊn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An opioid inverse agonist used to counter the effects of an overdose on opioids (such as heroin or morphine).".

No misspelling variants are generated for naloxone in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From nal- (“opioid receptor antagonist/agonist”) + (hydr)ox(y) + -one. The correct English form is naloxone, spelled N-A-L-O-X-O-N-E.

Definition

1
An opioid inverse agonist used to counter the effects of an overdose on opioids (such as heroin or morphine).

Etymology

From nal- (“opioid receptor antagonist/agonist”) + (hydr)ox(y) + -one.

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 "naloxone"?

"naloxone" is spelled N-A-L-O-X-O-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /nəˈlɒk.səʊn/.

What does "naloxone" mean?

As a noun, "naloxone" means: An opioid inverse agonist used to counter the effects of an overdose on opioids (such as heroin or morphine).

How do you pronounce "naloxone"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "naloxone" is /nəˈlɒk.səʊn/. 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 "naloxone"?

From nal- (“opioid receptor antagonist/agonist”) + (hydr)ox(y) + -one. 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 “naloxone”

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

The one correct English spelling is N-A-L-O-X-O-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /nəˈlɒk.səʊn/ (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.