psychological

/ˌsaɪ.kəˈlɒd͡ʒ.ɪ.kl̩/

//ˌsaɪ.kəˈlɒd͡ʒ.ɪ.kl̩// adj

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

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

The verdict

“psychological” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,549 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#4,549
frequency rank, English
13
letters
21
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of or pertaining to psychology.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

psychological vs psychologically
87% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for psychological
PropertyValue
Headwordpsychological
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌsaɪ.kəˈlɒd͡ʒ.ɪ.kl̩/
Letters13
Frequency rank#4,549
Misspellings tracked21
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “psychological” 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). psychological 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 psychological is 13 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌsaɪ.kəˈlɒd͡ʒ.ɪ.kl̩/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,549 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 21 likely wrong-spelling variants for psychological, with forms such as "ppsychological", "pscyhological", and "pssychological". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "psychologically", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From psychology + -ical. The correct English form is psychological, spelled P-S-Y-C-H-O-L-O-G-I-C-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of or pertaining to psychology.
  2. 2
    Relating to the mind and behavior or to the mental, emotional, and behavioral characteristics pertaining to a specified person, group, or activity.
  3. 3
    Without an objective, or reasonably logical foundation.

Etymology

From psychology + -ical.

This word in other languages

psicológico(Español)psychologique(Français)psychologisch(Deutsch)psicológico(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ppsychological,pscyhological,pssychological,psycchological,psychhological,psychloogical,psycholgoical,psychollogical,psychologcial,psychologgical,psychologiacl,psychologicall,psychologiccal,psychologicla,psycholoigcal,psychoolgical,psycohlogical,psyhcological,psyychological,pyschological,spychological

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of psychological - 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.

ppsychological1pscyhological2pssychological1psycchological1psychhological1psychloogical2psycholgoical2psychollogical1
Edit distance from "psychological"

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 "psychological"?
"psychological" is spelled P-S-Y-C-H-O-L-O-G-I-C-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌsaɪ.kəˈlɒd͡ʒ.ɪ.kl̩/.
What does "psychological" mean?
As an adjective, "psychological" means: Of or pertaining to psychology.
What words are commonly confused with "psychological"?
"psychological" is commonly confused with "psychologically". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "psychological"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "psychological" is /ˌsaɪ.kəˈlɒd͡ʒ.ɪ.kl̩/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "psychological"?
From psychology + -ical. 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 “psychological”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is P-S-Y-C-H-O-L-O-G-I-C-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˌsaɪ.kəˈlɒd͡ʒ.ɪ.kl̩/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “psychologically” - see the side-by-side comparison. psychological vs psychologically
  • 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