retrograde
/ˈɹɛtɹə(ʊ)ɡɹeɪd/
"retrograde" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“retrograde” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #25,906 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #25,906
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 15
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Directed or moving backwards in relation to the normal or previous direction of travel; retreating.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | retrograde |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈɹɛtɹə(ʊ)ɡɹeɪd/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #25,906 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “retrograde” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for retrograde is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɹɛtɹə(ʊ)ɡɹeɪd/. Corpus data places it at rank #25,906 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 13 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for retrograde, with forms such as "ertrograde", "rertograde", and "retorgrade". 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 is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: The adjective is derived from Middle English retrograd, retrograde (“of a planet: appearing to move in a direction opposite to the order of the zodiac signs, retrograde; unfortunate”), from Middle French retrograde and Old French retrograde (“of a celestial… The correct English form is retrograde, spelled R-E-T-R-O-G-R-A-D-E.
Definition
- 1Directed or moving backwards in relation to the normal or previous direction of travel; retreating.
- 2Reverting to an inferior or less developed state; declining, regressing.
- 3Reverting to an inferior or less developed state; declining, regressing.
- 4Of the order of something: inverse, reverse.
- 5Of the order of something: inverse, reverse.
- 6Of ideas or a person: opposing social reform, favouring the maintenance of the status quo; conservative.
- 7Involving a return to or a retracing of a previous course of travel.
- 8Counterproductive to a desired outcome; contradictory, contrary.
- 9Of a celestial body orbiting another: in the opposite direction to the orbited body's spin.
- 10Of a celestial body: seeming to move across the sky in the opposite direction from its ordinary movement.
- 11Of a metamorphic change: resulting from a decrease in pressure or temperature.
- 12Of amnesia: relating to the period leading up to the episode which caused it.
- 13Of verse: reading the same forwards or backwards; palindromic.
Etymology
The adjective is derived from Middle English retrograd, retrograde (“of a planet: appearing to move in a direction opposite to the order of the zodiac signs, retrograde; unfortunate”), from Middle French retrograde and Old French retrograde (“of a celestial object: appearing to move backwards; moving backwards; reverse; palindromic; opposed to change”) (modern French rétrograde), and from their etymon Latin retrōgradus (“of a celestial object: appearing to move backwards”) (compare Late Latin retrōgradus (“reverse; palindromic”)), from retrō (“back, backwards; behind; before, formerly”) + gradus (“pace, step”). By surface analysis, retro- + -grade. The adverb and noun are derived from the adjective.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ertrograde,rertograde,retorgrade,retrgorade,retrogarde,retroggrade,retrogradde,retrograed,retrogrdae,retrogrrade,retrorgade,retrrograde,rettrograde,rretrograde,rterograde
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of retrograde - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "retrograde"?
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Using “retrograde”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-E-T-R-O-G-R-A-D-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɹɛtɹə(ʊ)ɡɹeɪd/ (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.