prokaryotic

adj

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

"prokaryotic" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“prokaryotic” is an uncommon English word, ranked #69,359 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#69,359
frequency rank, English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of or having the characteristics of prokaryotes, especially bacteria.

Key facts for prokaryotic
PropertyValue
Headwordprokaryotic
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters11
Frequency rank#69,359
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “prokaryotic” 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). prokaryotic lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for prokaryotic is 11 letters long, classified as an adjective. Corpus data places it at rank #69,359 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No generated misspelling entries exist for prokaryotic in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From prokaryote + -ic. The correct English form is prokaryotic, spelled P-R-O-K-A-R-Y-O-T-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of or having the characteristics of prokaryotes, especially bacteria.
  2. 2
    Of cells, lacking a nucleus.

Etymology

From prokaryote + -ic.

Synonyms

bacterial

Antonyms

eukaryotic

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 "prokaryotic"?
"prokaryotic" is spelled P-R-O-K-A-R-Y-O-T-I-C.
What does "prokaryotic" mean?
As an adjective, "prokaryotic" means: Of or having the characteristics of prokaryotes, especially bacteria.
What is the origin of the word "prokaryotic"?
From prokaryote + -ic. 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 “prokaryotic”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is P-R-O-K-A-R-Y-O-T-I-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list