pestilential
/ˌpɛstɪˈlɛnʃi.əl/
"pestilential" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pestilential” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of or relating to pestilence or plague.
Corpus desk
Index EN-pestilential · pestilential · English
pestilential · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 12 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pestilential |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌpɛstɪˈlɛnʃi.əl/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “pestilential” in English
Rare enough to double-check
pestilential is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˌpɛstɪˈlɛnʃi.əl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for pestilential in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin pestilentialis, from pestilentia. The correct English form is pestilential, spelled P-E-S-T-I-L-E-N-T-I-A-L.
Definition
- 1Of or relating to pestilence or plague.
- 2Of or relating to pestilence or plague.
- 3Of or relating to pestilence or plague.
- 4Of or relating to pestilence or plague.
- 5Having a harmful moral effect (especially one that is believed to spread in the manner of pestilence).
- 6Causing irritation or annoyance.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how pestilential appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
1675, John Dryden, The Mistaken Husband, London: J. Magnes and R. Bentley, Act V, p. 63, What do you fear? Why do you shun me thus. […] I am not Pestilential, nor Leaprous.
[…] the Winter keen Pour’d out his Waste of Snows, and Summer shot His pestilential Heats:
Etymology
From Latin pestilentialis, from pestilentia.
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.