absorbing

Name: absorbing, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/əbˈzɔː.bɪŋ/

//əbˈzɔː.bɪŋ// adj

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“absorbing” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,874. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,874
frequency rank, English: 3,931
“A” headwords: 14
tracked misspellings: 1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Engrossing, that sustains someone's interest.

Corpus desk

Index EN-absorbing · absorbing · English

absorbing · rank #14,874 · 14 variants · 1 confusable

FREQ-MID #14,874
LEN-LONG 9 letters
VOW-3 3 vowels
CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
VAR-HIGH 14 variants
BOOK-MID 3,931
PHOTO-FINISH yielded

Nearest frequency peer: yielded (-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.

Wiley

85,132
witnessing

85,131
yielded

85,129
absorbing

85,127
adjoining

85,124
Albuquerque

85,123

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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

absorbing vs absorbent

78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for absorbing
Property	Value
Headword	absorbing
Language	English
Part of speech	Adjective
IPA	/əbˈzɔː.bɪŋ/
Letters	9
Frequency rank	#14,874
Misspellings tracked	14
Confusable pairs	1
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “absorbing”

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).absorbinglands here:

#14,874

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “yielded” (#14,872), “adjoining” (#14,877), “witnessing” (#14,870). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “absorbing” is #14,874. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around absorbing (IPA /əbˈzɔː.bɪŋ/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #14,874 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for absorbing, with forms such as "abbsorbing", "abosrbing", and "absobring". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "absorbent", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From absorb + -ing. The correct English form is absorbing, spelled A-B-S-O-R-B-I-N-G.

Definition

1
Engrossing, that sustains someone's interest.
2
Allowing a process to enter it, but not to leave it.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

an absorbing pursuit
It was a dramatic finish to an absorbing, fast-paced game but Blackburn will be deeply unhappy with referee Anthony Taylor as Nzonzi's handball was harsh.

Etymology

From absorb + -ing.

Synonyms

engrossing fascinating

This word in other languages

absorbente(Español)fesselnd(Deutsch)absorvente(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

abbsorbing
abosrbing
absobring
absorbbing
absorbign
absorbingg
absorbinng
absorbnig
absoribng
absorrbing
absrobing
abssorbing
asborbing
basorbing

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of absorbing - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

Edit distance from "absorbing"

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 "absorbing"?

"absorbing" is spelled A-B-S-O-R-B-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /əbˈzɔː.bɪŋ/.

What does "absorbing" mean?

As an adjective, "absorbing" means: Engrossing, that sustains someone's interest.

What words are commonly confused with "absorbing"?

"absorbing" is commonly confused with "absorbent". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "absorbing"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "absorbing" is /əbˈzɔː.bɪŋ/. 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 "absorbing"?

From absorb + -ing. 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 "absorbing", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

adjoining#14,877 wholesome#14,868 arresting#14,886 augmented#14,887

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

witnessing14 variants antibiotic14 variants bartender14 variants syndicate14 variants