Neogene

adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"neogene" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Neogene” is uncommon English (frequency #89,673 among 24,391 “N” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#89,673
frequency rank, English
24,391
“N” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of a geologic period within the Cenozoic era; comprises the Miocene, Pliocene, Pleistocene and Holocene epochs from about 26 million years ago to the present.

Key facts for Neogene
PropertyValue
HeadwordNeogene
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters7
Frequency rank#89,673
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Neogene” 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). Neogene lands here:

#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

Neogene is uncommon English at frequency #89,673 among 24,391 “N” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Of a geologic period within the Cenozoic era; comprises the Miocene, Pliocene, Pleistocene and Holocene epochs from about 26 million years ago to the present.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for Neogene, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword 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: From neo- + -gene. From Ancient Greek νέος (néos, “new”) + γενεά (geneá, “generation”). Compare Ancient Greek νεογενής (neogenḗs). The correct English form is Neogene, spelled N-E-O-G-E-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of a geologic period within the Cenozoic era; comprises the Miocene, Pliocene, Pleistocene and Holocene epochs from about 26 million years ago to the present.

Etymology

From neo- + -gene. From Ancient Greek νέος (néos, “new”) + γενεά (geneá, “generation”). Compare Ancient Greek νεογενής (neogenḗs).

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 "Neogene"?
"Neogene" is spelled N-E-O-G-E-N-E.
What does "Neogene" mean?
As an adjective, "Neogene" means: Of a geologic period within the Cenozoic era; comprises the Miocene, Pliocene, Pleistocene and Holocene epochs from about 26 million years ago to the present.
What is the origin of the word "Neogene"?
From neo- + -gene. From Ancient Greek νέος (néos, “new”) + γενεά (geneá, “generation”). Compare Ancient Greek νεογενής (neogenḗs). 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 “Neogene”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is N-E-O-G-E-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list