ternary
/ˈtɜː.nə.ɹi/
"ternary" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ternary” is uncommon English (frequency #52,043 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #52,043
- frequency rank, English
- 3,151
- “T” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Made up of three things.
Corpus desk
Index EN-ternary · ternary · English
ternary · rank #52,043 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #52,043
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,151
- PHOTO-FINISH therewith
Nearest frequency peer: therewith (+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 “ternary”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- telnet
telnet
47,962 corpus weight
- tempering
tempering
47,961 corpus weight
- ternary
ternary
47,958 corpus weight
- therewith
therewith
47,957 corpus weight
- thither
thither
47,955 corpus weight
- TID
TID
47,954 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “ternary” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ternary |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈtɜː.nə.ɹi/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #52,043 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “ternary” in English
Rare enough to double-check
ternary is uncommon English at frequency #52,043 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈtɜː.nə.ɹi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for ternary, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Latin ternārius (“consisting of three things”), from ternī (“three each”). The correct English form is ternary, spelled T-E-R-N-A-R-Y.
Definition
- 1Made up of three things.
- 2Arranged in groups of three.
- 3To the base three.
- 4Having three variables.
- 5Containing, or consisting of, three different parts, as elements, atoms, groups, or radicals, which are regarded as having different functions or relations in the molecule.
- 6Of an operator taking three operands.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how ternary appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Perhaps the prettiest number system of all is the balanced ternary notation
Sodic hydroxide, NaOH, is a ternary compound.
Etymology
From Late Latin ternārius (“consisting of three things”), from ternī (“three each”).
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); 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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ternary", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).