telegraphic

adj

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

"telegraphic" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“telegraphic” is uncommon English (frequency #70,324 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#70,324
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of, or relating to the telegraph.

Corpus desk

Index EN-telegraphic · telegraphic · English

telegraphic · rank #70,324 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #70,324
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH Tertullian

Nearest frequency peer: Tertullian (+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 “telegraphic”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for telegraphic
PropertyValue
Headwordtelegraphic
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters11
Frequency rank#70,324
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “telegraphic” 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).telegraphicfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Tertullian” (#70,325), “thallium” (#70,326), “tangling” (#70,321). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “telegraphic” is #70,324. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

telegraphic is uncommon English at frequency #70,324 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for telegraphic in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From telegraph + -ic. The correct English form is telegraphic, spelled T-E-L-E-G-R-A-P-H-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of, or relating to the telegraph.
  2. 2
    Brief or concise, especially resembling a telegram with clipped syntax.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. It turned out to be no more than the weekly Reuter’s telegram sent as an ordinary letter from the nearest telegraphic office fifty miles away.
  2. Her conversation, I soon found, was couched in the telegraphic style. “Weeds grow like house afire. Can’t keep even with ’em. Shall press you in. Better be careful.”

Etymology

From telegraph + -ic.

This word in other languages

telegráfico(Español)télégraphique(Français)telegraphisch(Deutsch)

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 "telegraphic"?
"telegraphic" is spelled T-E-L-E-G-R-A-P-H-I-C.
What does "telegraphic" mean?
As an adjective, "telegraphic" means: Of, or relating to the telegraph.
What is the origin of the word "telegraphic"?
From telegraph + -ic. 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 "telegraphic", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

syndicalism#70,313ventilating#70,377Victorville#70,379sociability#70,267

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list