vicissitude
/vɪˈsɪs.ɪˌt(j)uːd/
"vicissitude" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“vicissitude” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Regular change or succession from one thing to another, or one part of a cycle to the next; alternation; mutual succession; interchange; variability.
Corpus desk
Index EN-vicissitude · vicissitude · English
vicissitude · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "V" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | vicissitude |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /vɪˈsɪs.ɪˌt(j)uːd/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “vicissitude” in English
Rare enough to double-check
vicissitude is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /vɪˈsɪs.ɪˌt(j)uːd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
vicissitude doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French vicissitude, from Latin vicissitūdō (“change”), from vicissim (“on the other hand, in turn”), from vicis (“change, vicissitude”), whence Spanish vez and French fois (“time (as in "next time"), occurrence”). The correct English form is vicissitude, spelled V-I-C-I-S-S-I-T-U-D-E.
Definition
- 1Regular change or succession from one thing to another, or one part of a cycle to the next; alternation; mutual succession; interchange; variability.
- 2A change, especially in one's life or fortunes.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how vicissitude appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
And God made.. the Stars, and set them in the firmament of Heaven to illuminate the Earth, and rule the day in their vicissitude...
Among the vicissitudes incident to life, no event could have filled me with greater anxieties than that of which the notification was transmitted by your order, and received on the fourteenth day of the present month.
Etymology
From Middle French vicissitude, from Latin vicissitūdō (“change”), from vicissim (“on the other hand, in turn”), from vicis (“change, vicissitude”), whence Spanish vez and French fois (“time (as in "next time"), occurrence”).
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.