pleonasm
/ˈpliː.əˌnæz.əm/
"pleonasm" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pleonasm” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Redundancy in wording.
Corpus desk
Index EN-pleonasm · pleonasm · English
pleonasm · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 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 | pleonasm |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpliː.əˌnæz.əm/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “pleonasm” in English
Rare enough to double-check
pleonasm is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpliː.əˌnæz.əm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
pleonasm has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Late Latin pleonasmus, from Ancient Greek πλεονασμός (pleonasmós), from πλεονάζω (pleonázō, “to be superfluous”), from πλείων (pleíōn, “more”). The correct English form is pleonasm, spelled P-L-E-O-N-A-S-M.
Definition
- 1Redundancy in wording.
- 2A phrase involving pleonasm; a phrase containing one or more words which are redundant because their meaning is expressed elsewhere in the phrase.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how pleonasm appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
St. Jerome and St. Augustine are both sparing in the employment of the device of pleonasm.
Indeed, pleonasm, the use of superfluous or redundant words, is only part of the broader features of that style, the expressions of which have been so thoroughly analyzed by Franz Neirynck² and which for convenience will here be referred to as "dualisms."
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Late Latin pleonasmus, from Ancient Greek πλεονασμός (pleonasmós), from πλεονάζω (pleonázō, “to be superfluous”), from πλείων (pleíōn, “more”).
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.