precautionary

adj

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

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

The verdict

“precautionary” has 19 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #29,422. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#29,422
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
19
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of, pertaining to, or serving as a precaution.

Corpus desk

Index EN-precautionary · precautionary · English

precautionary · rank #29,422 · 19 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #29,422
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-7 7 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 19 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH poached

Nearest frequency peer: poached (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “precautionary”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “precautionary” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for precautionary
PropertyValue
Headwordprecautionary
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters13
Frequency rank#29,422
Misspellings tracked19
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “precautionary”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).precautionarylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “poached” (#29,421), “picker” (#29,420), “preside” (#29,424). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “precautionary” is #29,422. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 19 spelling variants around precautionary, anadjective. Corpus frequency is #29,422 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Of, pertaining to, or serving as a precaution.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 19 likely wrong-spelling variants for precautionary, with forms such as "percautionary", "pprecautionary", and "prceautionary". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From precaution + -ary. The correct English form is precautionary, spelled P-R-E-C-A-U-T-I-O-N-A-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of, pertaining to, or serving as a precaution.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The port cities were quarantined as a precautionary measure, though no cases of the disease had been found.
  2. Fearing attack on the northern ports by the English, he even took precautionary measures by strengthening the defense of Shan-hai-kuan 山海關 and Ch‘in-huang-tao 秦皇島.

Etymology

From precaution + -ary.

This word in other languages

precautorio(Español)précautionneux(Français)vorsorglich(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • percautionary
  • pprecautionary
  • prceautionary
  • preacutionary
  • precatuionary
  • precauitonary
  • precautinoary
  • precautioanry
  • precautionarry
  • precautionaryy
  • precautionayr
  • precautionnary
  • precautionray
  • precautoinary
  • precauttionary
  • preccautionary
  • precuationary
  • prrecautionary
  • rpecautionary

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of precautionary - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

percautionary2pprecautionary1prceautionary2preacutionary2precatuionary2precauitonary2precautinoary2precautioanry2
Edit distance from "precautionary"

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 "precautionary"?
"precautionary" is spelled P-R-E-C-A-U-T-I-O-N-A-R-Y.
What does "precautionary" mean?
As an adjective, "precautionary" means: Of, pertaining to, or serving as a precaution.
What are common misspellings of "precautionary"?
Common misspellings include "percautionary", "pprecautionary", "prceautionary", "preacutionary", "precatuionary". The correct spelling is "precautionary".
What is the origin of the word "precautionary"?
From precaution + -ary. 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 "precautionary", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

reinstatement#29,438normalization#29,395materialistic#29,366introspection#29,697

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (19 here; floor ≥5).

incomparable19 variantsethnographic19 variantschairmanship19 variantsconclusively19 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list