ulterior

/ʌlˈtɪə.ɹɪə/

//ʌlˈtɪə.ɹɪə// adj

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

"ulterior" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ulterior” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #33,467. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#33,467
frequency rank, English
1,433
“U” headwords
11
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Situated beyond, or on the farther side.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ulterior · ulterior · English

ulterior · rank #33,467 · 11 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #33,467
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,433
  • PHOTO-FINISH triage

Nearest frequency peer: triage (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “ulterior”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “ulterior” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for ulterior
PropertyValue
Headwordulterior
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ʌlˈtɪə.ɹɪə/
Letters8
Frequency rank#33,467
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “ulterior”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).ulteriorlands here:

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “triage” (#33,466), “unambiguous” (#33,468), “trappings” (#33,465). Among 1,433 “U” headwords, “ulterior” is #33,467. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around ulterior (IPA /ʌlˈtɪə.ɹɪə/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #33,467 among 1,433 “U” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for ulterior, with forms such as "luterior", "uletrior", and "ullterior". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin ulterior (“further, more distant”), from ulter (“that is beyond”) + -ior (“more”). The correct English form is ulterior, spelled U-L-T-E-R-I-O-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Situated beyond, or on the farther side.
  2. 2
    Beyond what is obvious or evident.
  3. 3
    Being intentionally concealed so as to deceive.
  4. 4
    Happening later; subsequent.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. It [Spain] was divided by the Romans into two provinces, Citeriour and Ulteriour, nearer and farther, that is, from Rome.
  2. Both citerior and ulterior locations (and corresponding contact locations) are marked similarly. Complex prepositions with mua 'front' […] and tua 'back' […] can denote citerior and ulterior locations respectively, while tafa 'side' […] can denote either citerior or ulterior locations.

Etymology

From Latin ulterior (“further, more distant”), from ulter (“that is beyond”) + -ior (“more”).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • luterior
  • uletrior
  • ullterior
  • ulteiror
  • ulteriorr
  • ulteriro
  • ulteroir
  • ulterrior
  • ultreior
  • ultterior
  • utlerior

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ulterior - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

luterior2uletrior2ullterior1ulteiror2ulteriorr1ulteriro2ulteroir2ulterrior1
Edit distance from "ulterior"

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 "ulterior"?
"ulterior" is spelled U-L-T-E-R-I-O-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ʌlˈtɪə.ɹɪə/.
What does "ulterior" mean?
As an adjective, "ulterior" means: Situated beyond, or on the farther side.
What are common misspellings of "ulterior"?
Common misspellings include "luterior", "uletrior", "ullterior", "ulteiror", "ulteriorr". The correct spelling is "ulterior".
How do you pronounce "ulterior"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ulterior" is /ʌlˈtɪə.ɹɪə/. 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 "ulterior"?
From Latin ulterior (“further, more distant”), from ulter (“that is beyond”) + -ior (“more”). 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 "ulterior", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

tomahawk#33,457Tenerife#33,451Yamamoto#33,492subspace#33,436

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Telford11 variantsWhitley11 variantsskeptic11 variantsshoutout11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list