prepositional

adj

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

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

The verdict

“prepositional” is uncommon English (frequency #78,042 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#78,042
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of, pertaining to, or of the nature of a preposition.

Corpus desk

Index EN-prepositional · prepositional · English

prepositional · rank #78,042 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #78,042
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH première

Nearest frequency peer: première (-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 “prepositional”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for prepositional
PropertyValue
Headwordprepositional
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters13
Frequency rank#78,042
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “prepositional” in English

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “première” (#78,041), “pressings” (#78,044), “powerboat” (#78,037). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “prepositional” is #78,042. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

prepositional is uncommon English at frequency #78,042 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

prepositional has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin praepositiō (“a setting before, a preposition”), a calque of Ancient Greek πρόθεσις (próthesis, “a setting before, preposition (grammar)”) + -al. The correct English form is prepositional, spelled P-R-E-P-O-S-I-T-I-O-N-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of, pertaining to, or of the nature of a preposition.
  2. 2
    Of the prepositional case.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Although we have concentrated on Prepositions which take zero Complements, NP Complements, or clausal Complements in our discussion above, there seems no reason in principle to exclude the possibility of Prepositions taking prepositional Complements. And it may well be that items such as those italicised below are Prepositions which subcategorise a PP Com…

Etymology

From Latin praepositiō (“a setting before, a preposition”), a calque of Ancient Greek πρόθεσις (próthesis, “a setting before, preposition (grammar)”) + -al.

This word in other languages

preposicional(Español)prépositionnel(Français)präpositional(Deutsch)preposicional(Português)

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 "prepositional"?
"prepositional" is spelled P-R-E-P-O-S-I-T-I-O-N-A-L.
What does "prepositional" mean?
As an adjective, "prepositional" means: Of, pertaining to, or of the nature of a preposition.
What is the origin of the word "prepositional"?
From Latin praepositiō (“a setting before, a preposition”), a calque of Ancient Greek πρόθεσις (próthesis, “a setting before, preposition (grammar)”) + -al. 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 "prepositional", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

psychodynamic#78,050schematically#78,110supersymmetry#78,170authenticator#78,378

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list