perusal

/pəˈɹuːzl̩/

//pəˈɹuːzl̩// noun

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

"perusal" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“perusal” is uncommon English (frequency #65,398 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#65,398
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act or process of perusing, or an instance of it.

Corpus desk

Index EN-perusal · perusal · English

perusal · rank #65,398 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #65,398
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH peon

Nearest frequency peer: peon (-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 “perusal”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for perusal
PropertyValue
Headwordperusal
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pəˈɹuːzl̩/
Letters7
Frequency rank#65,398
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “perusal” 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).perusalfalls 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: “peon” (#65,397), “PFT” (#65,400), “Pennines” (#65,395). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “perusal” is #65,398. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

perusal is uncommon English at frequency #65,398 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /pəˈɹuːzl̩/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for perusal, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From peruse + -al. The correct English form is perusal, spelled P-E-R-U-S-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act or process of perusing, or an instance of it.
  2. 2
    The act or process of perusing, or an instance of it.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Please find attached the relevant documents for your perusal.
  2. Having therefore no assistance but from general grammar, I applied myself to the perusal of our writers;

Etymology

From peruse + -al.

This word in other languages

escrutinio(Español)

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 "perusal"?
"perusal" is spelled P-E-R-U-S-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /pəˈɹuːzl̩/.
What does "perusal" mean?
As a noun, "perusal" means: The act or process of perusing, or an instance of it.
How do you pronounce "perusal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "perusal" is /pəˈɹuːzl̩/. 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 "perusal"?
From peruse + -al. 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 "perusal", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Pastore#65,388Poitier#65,409Paramus#65,386praetor#65,414

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list