preeminent

/pɹiːˈɛmɪnənt/

//pɹiːˈɛmɪnənt// adj

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

"preeminent" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“preeminent” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #37,633. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#37,633
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Exceeding others in quality or rank; of outstanding excellence, extremely notable or important.

Corpus desk

Index EN-preeminent · preeminent · English

preeminent · rank #37,633 · 15 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #37,633
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH prefabricated

Nearest frequency peer: prefabricated (+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 “preeminent”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “preeminent” 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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

preeminent vs prominent
80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for preeminent
PropertyValue
Headwordpreeminent
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/pɹiːˈɛmɪnənt/
Letters10
Frequency rank#37,633
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “preeminent”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).preeminentlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “prefabricated” (#37,634), “poolside” (#37,631), “poncho” (#37,630). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “preeminent” is #37,633. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around preeminent (IPA /pɹiːˈɛmɪnənt/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #37,633 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Exceeding others in quality or rank; of outstanding excellence, extremely notable or important.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for preeminent, with forms such as "pereminent", "ppreeminent", and "preeimnent". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "prominent", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French preeminent and its source, Latin praeēminēns, present participle of praeēmineō (“to stand out, excel”), from prae- (“pre-”) + ēmineō. The correct English form is preeminent, spelled P-R-E-E-M-I-N-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Exceeding others in quality or rank; of outstanding excellence, extremely notable or important.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. China is still preeminent for its Goldfish, of which Pennant informs us that the most beautiful kinds, both for elegance of shape and richness of tinting, are taken in a small lake in the Province of Che-kyang.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French preeminent and its source, Latin praeēminēns, present participle of praeēmineō (“to stand out, excel”), from prae- (“pre-”) + ēmineō.

This word in other languages

preeminente(Español)prééminent(Français)hervorragend(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • pereminent
  • ppreeminent
  • preeimnent
  • preemiennt
  • preeminennt
  • preeminentt
  • preeminetn
  • preeminnent
  • preeminnet
  • preemminent
  • preemnient
  • premeinent
  • preminent
  • prreeminent
  • rpeeminent

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of preeminent - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

pereminent2ppreeminent1preeimnent2preemiennt2preeminennt1preeminentt1preeminetn2preeminnent1
Edit distance from "preeminent"

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 "preeminent"?
"preeminent" is spelled P-R-E-E-M-I-N-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /pɹiːˈɛmɪnənt/.
What does "preeminent" mean?
As an adjective, "preeminent" means: Exceeding others in quality or rank; of outstanding excellence, extremely notable or important.
What words are commonly confused with "preeminent"?
"preeminent" is commonly confused with "prominent". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "preeminent"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "preeminent" is /pɹiːˈɛmɪnənt/. 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 "preeminent"?
Borrowed from Middle French preeminent and its source, Latin praeēminēns, present participle of praeēmineō (“to stand out, excel”), from prae- (“pre-”) + ēmineō. 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 "preeminent", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

presbytery#37,636prioritise#37,640propelling#37,642permafrost#37,623

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

naturalism15 variantsskyrocket15 variantsMalaysians15 variantssurmounted15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list