penultimate

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

/pɪˈnʌltɪmət/

//pɪˈnʌltɪmət// adj

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

The verdict

“penultimate” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #25,875. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#25,875
frequency rank, English: 46,516
“P” headwords: 16
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Next to last, second to last; immediately preceding the end of a sequence, list, etc.

Key facts for penultimate
Property	Value
Headword	penultimate
Language	English
Part of speech	Adjective
IPA	/pɪˈnʌltɪmət/
Letters	11
Frequency rank	#25,875
Misspellings tracked	16
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “penultimate” 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). penultimate lands here:

#25,875

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

← used constantlyrarely used →

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around penultimate (IPA /pɪˈnʌltɪmət/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #25,875 among 46,516 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for penultimate, with forms such as "epnultimate", "penlutimate", and "pennultimate". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Latin paene Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Italic *-tm̥mos Proto-Italic *oltm̥mos Latin ultimus Latin paenultimus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Italic *-ātos … The correct English form is penultimate, spelled P-E-N-U-L-T-I-M-A-T-E.

Definition

1
Next to last, second to last; immediately preceding the end of a sequence, list, etc.
2
Of or pertaining to a penult.
3
Relating to or denoting an element of a related collection of curves that is arbitrarily close to a degenerate form.
4
pre-eminent, ultimate, best; par excellence, top-quality

Etymology

Etymology tree Latin paene Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Italic *-tm̥mos Proto-Italic *oltm̥mos Latin ultimus Latin paenultimus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātuslbor. English -ate English penultimate From Latin paenultimus (“penultimate”) + -ate (adjective-forming suffix), from paene (“almost”) + ultimus (“last”). Equivalent to pene- + ultimate. Compare French pénultième.

Synonyms

next to last next-to-lastsecond to lastsecond-to-lastsecond from lastsecond-from-lastsecond lastsecond-lastlast but onelast penultimate but one

Antonyms

second

This word in other languages

penúltimo(Español)avant-dernier(Français)vorletzte(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

epnultimate
penlutimate
pennultimate
penulitmate
penulltimate
penultiamte
penultimaet
penultimatte
penultimmate
penultimtae
penultmiate
penulttimate
penutlimate
peunltimate
pneultimate
ppenultimate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of penultimate - 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.

Edit distance from "penultimate"

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 "penultimate"?

"penultimate" is spelled P-E-N-U-L-T-I-M-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /pɪˈnʌltɪmət/.

What does "penultimate" mean?

As an adjective, "penultimate" means: Next to last, second to last; immediately preceding the end of a sequence, list, etc.

What are common misspellings of "penultimate"?

Common misspellings include "epnultimate", "penlutimate", "pennultimate", "penulitmate", "penulltimate". The correct spelling is "penultimate".

How do you pronounce "penultimate"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "penultimate" is /pɪˈnʌltɪmət/. 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 "penultimate"?

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 “penultimate”

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

The one correct English spelling is P-E-N-U-L-T-I-M-A-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /pɪˈnʌltɪmət/ (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

Same frequency band

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.