syncope

/ˈsɪŋ.kə.pi/

//ˈsɪŋ.kə.pi// noun

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

"syncope" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“syncope” is uncommon English (frequency #64,755 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#64,755
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The elision or loss of a sound from the interior of a word, especially of a vowel sound with loss of a syllable.

Corpus desk

Index EN-syncope · syncope · English

syncope · rank #64,755 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #64,755
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Tamayo

Nearest frequency peer: Tamayo (+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 “syncope”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for syncope
PropertyValue
Headwordsyncope
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsɪŋ.kə.pi/
Letters7
Frequency rank#64,755
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “syncope” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).syncopefalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Tamayo” (#64,756), “Tamsin” (#64,757), “survivable” (#64,752). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “syncope” is #64,755. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

syncope is uncommon English at frequency #64,755 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsɪŋ.kə.pi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

syncope has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Late Latin syncopē, from Ancient Greek συγκοπή (sunkopḗ), from συγκόπτω (sunkóptō, “cut up”) + -η (-ē, nominalization suffix), from σύν (sún, “beside, with”) + κόπτω (kóptō, “strike, cut off”). Partly continues the (near-)doublets syn… The correct English form is syncope, spelled S-Y-N-C-O-P-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The elision or loss of a sound from the interior of a word, especially of a vowel sound with loss of a syllable.
  2. 2
    A loss of consciousness when fainting.
  3. 3
    A missed beat or off-beat stress in music resulting in syncopation.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how syncope appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. […]; on the contrary, all syllables subject in the same way to elision, apocope, syncope, and slurring must have the same degree of stress (i.e. they must be alike unaccented) whether preceded by short or by long root-syllables.
  2. Sometimes, without any apparent cause, I sank, little by little, into a condition of semi-syncope, or half swoon; and, in this condition, without pain, without ability to stir, or, strictly speaking, to think, but with a dull lethargic consciousness of life and of the presence of those who surrounded my bed, I remained, until the crisis of the disease res…

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Late Latin syncopē, from Ancient Greek συγκοπή (sunkopḗ), from συγκόπτω (sunkóptō, “cut up”) + -η (-ē, nominalization suffix), from σύν (sún, “beside, with”) + κόπτω (kóptō, “strike, cut off”). Partly continues the (near-)doublets syncopis and sincopin, both from the Old French sincopin (“faintness”) (itself from Late Latin accusative syncopen), with the pathological meaning "a loss of consciousness accompanied by a weak pulse", attested from the fifteenth century. Usage in the form syncope, with the phonological meaning "contraction of a word by omission of middle sounds or letters" attested from the 1520s. Syncopis and sincopin were "re-Latinized" to the form syncope in English in the sixteenth century. The musical usage first occurs after the 1660s, following the musical usage of syncopation and syncopate.

This word in other languages

síncopa(Español)syncope(Français)Synkope(Deutsch)síncope(Português)

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 "syncope"?
"syncope" is spelled S-Y-N-C-O-P-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɪŋ.kə.pi/.
What does "syncope" mean?
As a noun, "syncope" means: The elision or loss of a sound from the interior of a word, especially of a vowel sound with loss of a syllable.
How do you pronounce "syncope"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "syncope" is /ˈsɪŋ.kə.pi/. 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 "syncope"?
Learned borrowing from Late Latin syncopē, from Ancient Greek συγκοπή (sunkopḗ), from συγκόπτω (sunkóptō, “cut up”) + -η (-ē, nominalization suffix), from σύν (sún, “beside, with”) + κόπτω (kóptō, “strike, cut off”). Partly continues the (near-)do... 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 "syncope", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

taurine#64,761Tulloch#64,784Seaview#64,694Viviane#64,822

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list