preoccupation
/ˌpɹiɑkjʊˈpeɪʃən/noun
preoccupation is spelled P-R-E-O-C-C-U-P-A-T-I-O-N. The wrong spelling people search most is preocupation: about 10 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 28 of all searches for the word. Preoccupation is a noun meaning “The state of being preoccupied or an idea that preoccupies the mind; enthrallment”. The plural of preoccupation is preoccupations.
How many letters and syllables are in preoccupation?
| Letters | 13: P-R-E-O-C-C-U-P-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,063rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, preocupation, about 10 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell preoccupation?
Preoccupation is spelled P-R-E-O-C-C-U-P-A-T-I-O-N. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 28 of the searches for preoccupation in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is preoccupation?
Preoccupation appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,063rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce preoccupation?
- US /ˌpɹiɑkjʊˈpeɪʃən/
- US /ˌpriɑkjəˈpeɪʃən/
- UK /ˌpɹiɒkjʊˈpeɪʃən/
Preoccupation has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-preoccupation.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with preoccupation
Also written: pre-occupation (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with preoccupation?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as preoccupation from its last stressed vowel (/eɪʃən/):
- situation
- association
- population
- administration
- operation
- organization
- application
- location
- generation
- foundation
- conversation
- investigation
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of preoccupation
- preoccupations plural
- pre-occupation
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does preoccupation mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The state of being preoccupied or an idea that preoccupies the mind; enthrallment.
- 2
The act of occupying something before someone else.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Preoccupation in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense the state of being preoccupied; enthrallment:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Vertieftsein, Beschäftigtsein, beherrschender Gedanke, Sorge, Anliegen, Besorgnis |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does preoccupation come from?
Borrowed from Middle French préoccupation, from Latin praeoccupātiō. By surface analysis, pre- + occupation or preoccupy + -ation.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).