peripeteia
/pɛɹɪpɪˈtiə/noun
peripeteia is spelled P-E-R-I-P-E-T-E-I-A: 10 letters. It appears about once in every 81 million words in written English, the 286,585th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, peripeteia means “A sudden reversal of fortune as a plot point in Classical tragedy” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of peripeteia is peripeteias.
How many letters and syllables are in peripeteia?
| Letters | 10: P-E-R-I-P-E-T-E-I-A |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 81 million words; the 286,585th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is peripeteia?
Peripeteia appears about once in every 81 million words in written English, the 286,585th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce peripeteia?
- UK /pɛɹɪpɪˈtɪə/
- UK /pɛɹɪpɪˈtaɪə/
- US /pɛɹɪpɪˈtiə/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What rhymes with peripeteia?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as peripeteia from its last stressed vowel (/iə/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of peripeteia
- peripeteias plural
- peripetia
- peripety
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does peripeteia mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A sudden reversal of fortune as a plot point in Classical tragedy.
- 2
Any sudden change in circumstances; a crisis.
- 3
A turning point in psychosocial development.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Peripeteia in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a reversal of fortune; a sudden change in circumstances:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does peripeteia come from?
From Late Latin peripetia, and its source Ancient Greek περιπέτεια (peripéteia), from περιπίπτω (peripíptō, “to change suddenly”), from περί (perí, “round, around, about”) + the stem of πίπτω (píptō, “to fall”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).