obsolescent
/ɒbsəˈlɛsənt/
"obsolescent" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“obsolescent” is uncommon English (frequency #92,946 among 15,494 “O” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #92,946
- frequency rank, English
- 15,494
- “O” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - In the process of becoming obsolete, but not obsolete yet.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | obsolescent |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɒbsəˈlɛsənt/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #92,946 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “obsolescent” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
obsolescent is uncommon English at frequency #92,946 among 15,494 “O” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ɒbsəˈlɛsənt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "In the process of becoming obsolete, but not obsolete yet.".
obsolescent has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin obsolēscēns. The correct English form is obsolescent, spelled O-B-S-O-L-E-S-C-E-N-T.
Definition
- 1In the process of becoming obsolete, but not obsolete yet.
Etymology
From Latin obsolēscēns.
Synonyms
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 "obsolescent"?
What does "obsolescent" mean?
How do you pronounce "obsolescent"?
What is the origin of the word "obsolescent"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “obsolescent”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is O-B-S-O-L-E-S-C-E-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɒbsəˈlɛsənt/ (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.