pathological

/ˌpæθ.əˈlɑd͡ʒ.ɪ.kəl/

//ˌpæθ.əˈlɑd͡ʒ.ɪ.kəl// adj

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

"pathological" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pathological” has 18 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,152. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,152
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
18
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Pertaining to pathology.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pathological · pathological · English

pathological · rank #18,152 · 18 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,152
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 18 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pasture

Nearest frequency peer: pasture (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “pathological”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “pathological” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for pathological
PropertyValue
Headwordpathological
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌpæθ.əˈlɑd͡ʒ.ɪ.kəl/
Letters12
Frequency rank#18,152
Misspellings tracked18
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pathological”

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).pathologicallands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “pasture” (#18,151), “payload” (#18,153), “parcels” (#18,150). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pathological” is #18,152. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 18 spelling variants around pathological (IPA /ˌpæθ.əˈlɑd͡ʒ.ɪ.kəl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #18,152 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 18 likely wrong-spelling variants for pathological, with forms such as "apthological", "pahtological", and "pathhological". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From pathology + -ical. The correct English form is pathological, spelled P-A-T-H-O-L-O-G-I-C-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pertaining to pathology.
  2. 2
    Relating to, amounting to, or caused by a physical or mental disorder.
  3. 3
    Having properties which are counterintuitive or difficult to handle.
  4. 4
    Having properties that cause unusually bad behaviour, especially regarding correctness or performance.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. But we can no longer regard the mere fact of these diffuse condensations of the lung becoming yellow and caseous as an evidence of their tuberculous nature, especially since the pathological anatomists, and among them Virchow, have shown that formations of the most different kind, having not the slightest connection with tubercule— as, for example, old ca…
  2. Paul Canning's performance as Julian gives the character an emotional center that is not in the script: He is vulnerable without being pathological, needy without being pathetic.

Etymology

From pathology + -ical.

Synonyms

pathologic

Antonyms

well-behaved

This word in other languages

patológico(Español)pathologique(Français)pathologisch(Deutsch)patológico(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • apthological
  • pahtological
  • pathhological
  • pathloogical
  • patholgoical
  • pathollogical
  • pathologcial
  • pathologgical
  • pathologiacl
  • pathologicall
  • pathologiccal
  • pathologicla
  • patholoigcal
  • pathoolgical
  • patohlogical
  • patthological
  • ppathological
  • ptahological

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pathological - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

apthological2pahtological2pathhological1pathloogical2patholgoical2pathollogical1pathologcial2pathologgical1
Edit distance from "pathological"

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 "pathological"?
"pathological" is spelled P-A-T-H-O-L-O-G-I-C-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌpæθ.əˈlɑd͡ʒ.ɪ.kəl/.
What does "pathological" mean?
As an adjective, "pathological" means: Pertaining to pathology.
What are common misspellings of "pathological"?
Common misspellings include "apthological", "pahtological", "pathhological", "pathloogical", "patholgoical". The correct spelling is "pathological".
How do you pronounce "pathological"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pathological" is /ˌpæθ.əˈlɑd͡ʒ.ɪ.kəl/. 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 "pathological"?
From pathology + -ical. 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 "pathological", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

legitimately#18,120interruption#18,111unattractive#18,208affectionate#18,232

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (18 here; floor ≥5).

cosmopolitan18 variantscolonization18 variantstransformer18 variantsimpoverished18 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list