quadriplegic

/ˌkwɒd.ɹɪˈp(ə)liː.dʒɪk/

//ˌkwɒd.ɹɪˈp(ə)liː.dʒɪk// adj

"quadriplegic" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“quadriplegic” is uncommon English (frequency #63,166 among 288 “Q” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#63,166
frequency rank, English
288
“Q” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of, related to, or suffering from quadriplegia.

Corpus desk

Index EN-quadriplegic · quadriplegic · English

quadriplegic · rank #63,166 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #63,166
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 288
  • PHOTO-FINISH quadrature

Nearest frequency peer: quadrature (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “quadriplegic”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “quadriplegic” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for quadriplegic
PropertyValue
Headwordquadriplegic
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌkwɒd.ɹɪˈp(ə)liː.dʒɪk/
Letters12
Frequency rank#63,166
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “quadriplegic” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).quadriplegicfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “quadrature” (#63,165), “putsch” (#63,164), “quelling” (#63,168). Among 288 “Q” headwords, “quadriplegic” is #63,166. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

quadriplegic is uncommon English at frequency #63,166 among 288 “Q” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˌkwɒd.ɹɪˈp(ə)liː.dʒɪk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Of, related to, or suffering from quadriplegia.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for quadriplegic in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From quadri- (of Latin origins) and -plegic, from Ancient Greek πλήσσειν (plḗssein, “to strike”); probably patterned after paraplegic from the Ancient Greek παραπληγή (paraplēgḗ, “the paralysis of half of the body”). The correct English form is quadriplegic, spelled Q-U-A-D-R-I-P-L-E-G-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of, related to, or suffering from quadriplegia.

Etymology

From quadri- (of Latin origins) and -plegic, from Ancient Greek πλήσσειν (plḗssein, “to strike”); probably patterned after paraplegic from the Ancient Greek παραπληγή (paraplēgḗ, “the paralysis of half of the body”).

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 "quadriplegic"?
"quadriplegic" is spelled Q-U-A-D-R-I-P-L-E-G-I-C. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌkwɒd.ɹɪˈp(ə)liː.dʒɪk/.
What does "quadriplegic" mean?
As an adjective, "quadriplegic" means: Of, related to, or suffering from quadriplegia.
How do you pronounce "quadriplegic"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "quadriplegic" is /ˌkwɒd.ɹɪˈp(ə)liː.dʒɪk/. 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 "quadriplegic"?
From quadri- (of Latin origins) and -plegic, from Ancient Greek πλήσσειν (plḗssein, “to strike”); probably patterned after paraplegic from the Ancient Greek παραπληγή (paraplēgḗ, “the paralysis of half of the body”). 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "quadriplegic", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list