perspicacity
/ˌpɜː.spɪˈkæs.ɪ.ti/
"perspicacity" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“perspicacity” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Acute discernment or understanding; insight.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | perspicacity |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌpɜː.spɪˈkæs.ɪ.ti/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “perspicacity” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for perspicacity is 12 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌpɜː.spɪˈkæs.ɪ.ti/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
perspicacity has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From From perspicac(ious) + -ity, from Middle French perspicacité, from Latin perspicācitās (“sharpsightedness, discrimination”), from perspicio, from per- + specio, "see through (something)". The correct English form is perspicacity, spelled P-E-R-S-P-I-C-A-C-I-T-Y.
Definition
- 1Acute discernment or understanding; insight.
- 2The human faculty or power to mentally grasp or understand clearly.
- 3Keen eyesight.
Etymology
From From perspicac(ious) + -ity, from Middle French perspicacité, from Latin perspicācitās (“sharpsightedness, discrimination”), from perspicio, from per- + specio, "see through (something)".
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “perspicacity”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-E-R-S-P-I-C-A-C-I-T-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌpɜː.spɪˈkæs.ɪ.ti/ (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
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.