prolongation
/ˌpɹəʊlɒŋˈɡeɪʃən/
"prolongation" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“prolongation” is an uncommon English word, ranked #61,044 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #61,044
- frequency rank, English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The act of prolonging.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | prolongation |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌpɹəʊlɒŋˈɡeɪʃən/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Frequency rank | #61,044 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “prolongation” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for prolongation is 12 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌpɹəʊlɒŋˈɡeɪʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #61,044 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 prolongation in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English prolongacioun, from Old French prolongation, from Late Latin prōlongātiō, from prōlongātus, perfect passive participle of Latin prōlongō, from prō + longus. By surface analysis, prolong + -ation. The correct English form is prolongation, spelled P-R-O-L-O-N-G-A-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1The act of prolonging.
- 2That which has been prolonged; an extension.
Etymology
From Middle English prolongacioun, from Old French prolongation, from Late Latin prōlongātiō, from prōlongātus, perfect passive participle of Latin prōlongō, from prō + longus. By surface analysis, prolong + -ation.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
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
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Using “prolongation”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-R-O-L-O-N-G-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌpɹəʊlɒŋˈɡeɪʃən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.