phencyclidine

/fɛnˈsaɪ.klɪ.diːn/

//fɛnˈsaɪ.klɪ.diːn// noun

"phencyclidine" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“phencyclidine” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A synthetic compound derived from piperidine, used as a veterinary anesthetic and in hallucinogenic drugs such as angel dust.

Corpus desk

Index EN-phencyclidine · phencyclidine · English

phencyclidine · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 13 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.

Key facts for phencyclidine
PropertyValue
Headwordphencyclidine
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/fɛnˈsaɪ.klɪ.diːn/
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “phencyclidine” in English

phencyclidinesits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

phencyclidine is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /fɛnˈsaɪ.klɪ.diːn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A synthetic compound derived from piperidine, used as a veterinary anesthetic and in hallucinogenic drugs such as angel dust.".

Zero misspellings are on record for phencyclidine in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Contraction of phenylcyclohexylpiperidine. The correct English form is phencyclidine, spelled P-H-E-N-C-Y-C-L-I-D-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A synthetic compound derived from piperidine, used as a veterinary anesthetic and in hallucinogenic drugs such as angel dust.

Etymology

Contraction of phenylcyclohexylpiperidine.

Synonyms

angel dustcrystalfairy dustillhoghorse tranquilizerKJlove boatmagic mistPCPpeace pillphencyclidinephenylcyclohexylpiperidineshermticwackzootzootie

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

How do you spell "phencyclidine"?
"phencyclidine" is spelled P-H-E-N-C-Y-C-L-I-D-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /fɛnˈsaɪ.klɪ.diːn/.
What does "phencyclidine" mean?
As a noun, "phencyclidine" means: A synthetic compound derived from piperidine, used as a veterinary anesthetic and in hallucinogenic drugs such as angel dust.
How do you pronounce "phencyclidine"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "phencyclidine" is /fɛnˈsaɪ.klɪ.diːn/. 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 "phencyclidine"?
Contraction of phenylcyclohexylpiperidine. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list