tutelary
/ˈtjuːtɪləɹɪ/
"tutelary" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“tutelary” is uncommon English (frequency #99,966 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #99,966
- frequency rank, English
- 3,151
- “T” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Relating to guardianship or protection.
Corpus desk
Index EN-tutelary · tutelary · English
tutelary · rank #99,966 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #99,966
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,151
- PHOTO-FINISH Turvey
Nearest frequency peer: Turvey (-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 “tutelary”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- troves
troves
41 corpus weight
- Tswana
Tswana
38 corpus weight
- Turvey
Turvey
36 corpus weight
- tutelary
tutelary
35 corpus weight
- TVM
TVM
33 corpus weight
- Twyla
Twyla
32 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “tutelary” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | tutelary |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈtjuːtɪləɹɪ/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #99,966 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “tutelary” in English
Rare enough to double-check
tutelary is uncommon English at frequency #99,966 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈtjuːtɪləɹɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for tutelary, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin tūtēlārius (“guardian”), from tūtēla (“tutelage, guardianship; dependent, client”) + -ārius (suffix denoting an agent of use); analysable as tutelar + -ary. The correct English form is tutelary, spelled T-U-T-E-L-A-R-Y.
Definition
- 1Relating to guardianship or protection.
- 2Of or pertaining to a guardian.
- 3Having the qualities of a tutor.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how tutelary appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
When a minor is involved, tutelary powers frequently accompany powers of attorney.
[I]n the firſt of Henry the ſixth, the Company of Armorers in London were incorporated by the name of the fraternite of Saint George: which queſtionleſſe reflected on him, though not as Patron ſpecially of this Realme of England, yet as the tutelarie Saint of militarie men. Elſe to what purpose ſhould the Armorers, whoſe trade is onely deſtinate to the uſ…
Etymology
From Latin tūtēlārius (“guardian”), from tūtēla (“tutelage, guardianship; dependent, client”) + -ārius (suffix denoting an agent of use); analysable as tutelar + -ary.
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 "tutelary", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).