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 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#78,042
frequency rank, English
46,516
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of, pertaining to, or of the nature of a preposition.

Key facts for prepositional
PropertyValue
Headwordprepositional
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters13
Frequency rank#78,042
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “prepositional” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

prepositional is uncommon English at frequency #78,042 among 46,516 “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.

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.

Using “prepositional”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-R-E-P-O-S-I-T-I-O-N-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list