parasympathetic

/ˌpa.ɹə.sɪm.pəˈθɛt.ɪk/

//ˌpa.ɹə.sɪm.pəˈθɛt.ɪk// adj

"parasympathetic" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“parasympathetic” is uncommon English (frequency #68,519 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#68,519
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of or relating to the part of the autonomic nervous system that inhibits or opposes the effects of the sympathetic nervous system. It consists of nerves arising from the brain and the lower end of ...

Corpus desk

Index EN-parasympathetic · parasympathetic · English

parasympathetic · rank #68,519 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #68,519
  • LEN-MEGA 15 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pantsuit

Nearest frequency peer: pantsuit (-1 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 “parasympathetic”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for parasympathetic
PropertyValue
Headwordparasympathetic
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌpa.ɹə.sɪm.pəˈθɛt.ɪk/
Letters15
Frequency rank#68,519
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “parasympathetic” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).parasympatheticfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “pantsuit” (#68,518), “partido” (#68,520), “pampa” (#68,515). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “parasympathetic” is #68,519. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

parasympathetic is uncommon English at frequency #68,519 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˌpa.ɹə.sɪm.pəˈθɛt.ɪk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Of or relating to the part of the autonomic nervous system that inhibits or opposes the effects of the sympathetic nervous system. It consists of nerves arising from the brain and the lower end of ...".

parasympathetic has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From para- (“beside, adjacent to”) + sympathetic, because some of these nerves run alongside sympathetic nerves. The correct English form is parasympathetic, spelled P-A-R-A-S-Y-M-P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of or relating to the part of the autonomic nervous system that inhibits or opposes the effects of the sympathetic nervous system. It consists of nerves arising from the brain and the lower end of the spinal cord and supplying the internal organs, blood vessels, and glands.

Etymology

From para- (“beside, adjacent to”) + sympathetic, because some of these nerves run alongside sympathetic nerves.

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 "parasympathetic"?
"parasympathetic" is spelled P-A-R-A-S-Y-M-P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌpa.ɹə.sɪm.pəˈθɛt.ɪk/.
What does "parasympathetic" mean?
As an adjective, "parasympathetic" means: Of or relating to the part of the autonomic nervous system that inhibits or opposes the effects of the sympathetic nervous system. It consists of nerves arising from the brain and the lower end of ...
How do you pronounce "parasympathetic"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "parasympathetic" is /ˌpa.ɹə.sɪm.pəˈθɛt.ɪk/. 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 "parasympathetic"?
From para- (“beside, adjacent to”) + sympathetic, because some of these nerves run alongside sympathetic nerves. 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 "parasympathetic", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 15 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list