pulsation
/pʌlˈseɪʃn̩/
"pulsation" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pulsation” is an uncommon English word, ranked #72,680 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #72,680
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The regular throbbing of the heart, an artery etc. in a living body; the pulse.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pulsation |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /pʌlˈseɪʃn̩/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #72,680 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “pulsation” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for pulsation is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pʌlˈseɪʃn̩/. Corpus data places it at rank #72,680 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Zero misspellings are on record for pulsation in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English pulsacioun (“pulsing of the blood, throbbing”), borrowed from Middle French pulsacion (“(of bells) a striking (end of 14th c.); (of a diseased part of the body) a throbbing (1377); pulsation (1575)”), and its source, Latin puls… The correct English form is pulsation, spelled P-U-L-S-A-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1The regular throbbing of the heart, an artery etc. in a living body; the pulse.
- 2Any rhythmic beating, throbbing etc.
- 3The rhythmic increase and decrease of size in naked zoospores and plasmodia.
- 4Physical striking; a blow.
- 5A single beat, throb or vibration.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English pulsacioun (“pulsing of the blood, throbbing”), borrowed from Middle French pulsacion (“(of bells) a striking (end of 14th c.); (of a diseased part of the body) a throbbing (1377); pulsation (1575)”), and its source, Latin pulsātiō (“(classical Latin) a beating or striking; (Medieval Latin, medical) rhythmical expansion and contraction (1363 in Chauliac)”). By surface analysis, pulsate + -ion.
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
How do you spell "pulsation"?
What does "pulsation" mean?
How do you pronounce "pulsation"?
What is the origin of the word "pulsation"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “pulsation”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-U-L-S-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /pʌlˈseɪʃn̩/ (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.