truncation

/tɹʌŋˈkeɪʃən/

//tɹʌŋˈkeɪʃən// noun

"truncation" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“truncation” is uncommon English (frequency #68,709 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#68,709
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of truncating or shortening (for example, words are shortened to form blend words or portmanteaus).

Corpus desk

Index EN-truncation · truncation · English

truncation · rank #68,709 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #68,709
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH tuco

Nearest frequency peer: tuco (+2 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 “truncation”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for truncation
PropertyValue
Headwordtruncation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/tɹʌŋˈkeɪʃən/
Letters10
Frequency rank#68,709
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “truncation” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).truncationfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “tuco” (#68,711), “trendsetter” (#68,706), “twining” (#68,712). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “truncation” is #68,709. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

truncation is uncommon English at frequency #68,709 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /tɹʌŋˈkeɪʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

truncation doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Latin truncātiō, from Latin truncāre, past participle truncātus (“to cut off”). By surface analysis, truncate + -ion. The correct English form is truncation, spelled T-R-U-N-C-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of truncating or shortening (for example, words are shortened to form blend words or portmanteaus).
  2. 2
    The removal of the least significant digits from a decimal number.
  3. 3
    An operation in any dimension that cuts a regular polytope at its vertices, creating a new facet in place of each vertex.

Etymology

From Late Latin truncātiō, from Latin truncāre, past participle truncātus (“to cut off”). By surface analysis, truncate + -ion.

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

How do you spell "truncation"?
"truncation" is spelled T-R-U-N-C-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /tɹʌŋˈkeɪʃən/.
What does "truncation" mean?
As a noun, "truncation" means: The act of truncating or shortening (for example, words are shortened to form blend words or portmanteaus).
How do you pronounce "truncation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "truncation" is /tɹʌŋˈkeɪʃən/. 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 "truncation"?
From Late Latin truncātiō, from Latin truncāre, past participle truncātus (“to cut off”). By surface analysis, truncate + -ion. 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 "truncation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list