tricyclic

adj

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

"tricyclic" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tricyclic” is uncommon English (frequency #82,868 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#82,868
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having three rings of atoms in the molecule.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tricyclic · tricyclic · English

tricyclic · rank #82,868 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #82,868
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH tretinoin

Nearest frequency peer: tretinoin (-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 “tricyclic”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for tricyclic
PropertyValue
Headwordtricyclic
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters9
Frequency rank#82,868
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “tricyclic” 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).tricyclicfalls 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: “tretinoin” (#82,867), “triforce” (#82,869), “triste” (#82,870). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tricyclic” is #82,868. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

tricyclic is uncommon English at frequency #82,868 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for tricyclic, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From tri- + cyclic. The correct English form is tricyclic, spelled T-R-I-C-Y-C-L-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having three rings of atoms in the molecule.
  2. 2
    Of a flower: composed of three whorls or organs.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. a tricyclic antidepressant
  2. Anthracene is tricyclic.

Etymology

From tri- + cyclic.

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 "tricyclic"?
"tricyclic" is spelled T-R-I-C-Y-C-L-I-C.
What does "tricyclic" mean?
As an adjective, "tricyclic" means: Having three rings of atoms in the molecule.
What is the origin of the word "tricyclic"?
From tri- + cyclic. 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 "tricyclic", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

tretinoin#82,867unfurling#82,883terrorise#82,849unscrewed#82,888

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list