preoccupied

Name: preoccupied, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

adj

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“preoccupied” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #20,740. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#20,740
frequency rank, English: 4,417
“P” headwords: 14
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Prepossessed; biased.

Corpus desk

Index EN-preoccupied · preoccupied · English

preoccupied · rank #20,740 · 14 variants · 0 confusables

FREQ-MID #20,740
LEN-MEGA 11 letters
VOW-5 5 vowels
CONFUS-0 No pairs
VAR-HIGH 14 variants
BOOK-MID 4,417
PHOTO-FINISH projectile

Nearest frequency peer: projectile (+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.

polarization

79,264
potty

79,263
preoccupied

79,261
projectile

79,260
protracted

79,259
Prussian

79,258

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

Key facts for preoccupied
Property	Value
Headword	preoccupied
Language	English
Part of speech	Adjective
Letters	11
Frequency rank	#20,740
Misspellings tracked	14
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “preoccupied”

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).preoccupiedlands here:

#20,740

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “projectile” (#20,741), “potty” (#20,738), “protracted” (#20,742). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “preoccupied” is #20,740. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around preoccupied, anadjective. Corpus frequency is #20,740 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for preoccupied, with forms such as "peroccupied", "ppreoccupied", and "precocupied". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is preoccupied, spelled P-R-E-O-C-C-U-P-I-E-D.

Definition

1
Prepossessed; biased.
2
Already occupied.
3
Describing a taxonomic name not available for use because it is already used for another.
4
Concerned with something else; distracted; giving one's attention elsewhere.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

Terrified at this uproar, which disconcerted the magician himself, she ran for shelter into the place which was preoccupied by the other lady […].
Scythrop, retiring to his tower, found his study preoccupied.

This word in other languages

ensimismado(Español)préoccupé(Français)gedankenverloren(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

peroccupied
ppreoccupied
precocupied
preoccpuied
preoccuiped
preoccupeid
preoccupide
preoccupiedd
preoccuppied
preocucpied
preocupied
proeccupied
prreoccupied
rpeoccupied

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of preoccupied - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

Edit distance from "preoccupied"

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 "preoccupied"?

"preoccupied" is spelled P-R-E-O-C-C-U-P-I-E-D.

What does "preoccupied" mean?

As an adjective, "preoccupied" means: Prepossessed; biased.

What are common misspellings of "preoccupied"?

Common misspellings include "peroccupied", "ppreoccupied", "precocupied", "preoccpuied", "preoccuiped". The correct spelling is "preoccupied".

What language does "preoccupied" come from?

"preoccupied" 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 "preoccupied", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Scandinavia#20,765 liquidation#20,694 supremacist#20,794 aggregation#20,827

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

reforming14 variants orthodoxy14 variants mercenary14 variants speechless14 variants