preeminence

/pɹiˈɛ.mɪˌnəns/

//pɹiˈɛ.mɪˌnəns// noun

"preeminence" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“preeminence” is uncommon English (frequency #82,687 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#82,687
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The status of being preeminent, dominant or ascendant.

Corpus desk

Index EN-preeminence · preeminence · English

preeminence · rank #82,687 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #82,687
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH precognition

Nearest frequency peer: precognition (-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 “preeminence”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for preeminence
PropertyValue
Headwordpreeminence
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pɹiˈɛ.mɪˌnəns/
Letters11
Frequency rank#82,687
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “preeminence” 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).preeminencefalls 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: “precognition” (#82,686), “prodigiously” (#82,689), “Prajapati” (#82,684). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “preeminence” is #82,687. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

preeminence is uncommon English at frequency #82,687 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /pɹiˈɛ.mɪˌnəns/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for preeminence in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is preeminence, spelled P-R-E-E-M-I-N-E-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The status of being preeminent, dominant or ascendant.
  2. 2
    High importance; superiority.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. In an era when political leaders promise deliverance from decline through America’s purported preeminence in scientific research, the news that science is in deep trouble in the United States has been as unwelcome as a diagnosis of leukemia following the loss of health insurance.

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); 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 "preeminence"?
"preeminence" is spelled P-R-E-E-M-I-N-E-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /pɹiˈɛ.mɪˌnəns/.
What does "preeminence" mean?
As a noun, "preeminence" means: The status of being preeminent, dominant or ascendant.
How do you pronounce "preeminence"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "preeminence" is /pɹiˈɛ.mɪˌnəns/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "preeminence" come from?
"preeminence" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "preeminence", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list