sinecure
/ˈsaɪ.nɪˌkjʊə/
"sinecure" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“sinecure” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A position that requires little to no work, or easy work, but still gives an ample payment; a cushy job.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | sinecure |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsaɪ.nɪˌkjʊə/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “sinecure” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
sinecure is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsaɪ.nɪˌkjʊə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
sinecure doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Ecclesiastical Latin sine cūrā (literally “without care”), ellipsis of beneficium sine cūrā (“benefice without cure [of souls, i.e. the office of a curate]”), formed from Medieval Latin sine (“without”) + cūrā (“care, charge, cure”). The correct English form is sinecure, spelled S-I-N-E-C-U-R-E.
Definition
- 1A position that requires little to no work, or easy work, but still gives an ample payment; a cushy job.
- 2An ecclesiastical benefice without the care of souls.
Etymology
From Ecclesiastical Latin sine cūrā (literally “without care”), ellipsis of beneficium sine cūrā (“benefice without cure [of souls, i.e. the office of a curate]”), formed from Medieval Latin sine (“without”) + cūrā (“care, charge, cure”).
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “sinecure”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-I-N-E-C-U-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsaɪ.nɪˌkjʊə/ (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.