accent
/ˈak.sənt/
"accent" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“accent” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #5,655 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #5,655
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 17
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A higher-pitched or stronger (louder or longer) articulation of a particular syllable of a word or phrase in order to distinguish it from the others or to emphasize it.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | accent |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈak.sənt/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #5,655 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 17 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “accent” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for accent is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈak.sənt/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,655 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 19 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for accent, with forms such as "accennt", "accentt", and "accetn". 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 17 confusable-pair relationships, "acct", "agent", "arent", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English accent, from Medieval Latin accentus and Old French accent, acent, both from Latin accentus, past participle of accinō (“sing to, sing along”). The word accent had been borrowed into Old English already, but was lost and reborrowed in Mi… The correct English form is accent, spelled A-C-C-E-N-T.
Definition
- 1A higher-pitched or stronger (louder or longer) articulation of a particular syllable of a word or phrase in order to distinguish it from the others or to emphasize it.
- 2Emphasis or importance in general.
- 3A mark used in writing, in order to indicate the place of the spoken stress.
- 4Any mark used in writing over letters, either in order to indicate the place of the spoken stress, or to indicate the nature or quality of the vowel marked, or to distinguish homophones.
- 5Modulation of the voice in speaking; the manner of speaking or pronouncing; a peculiar or characteristic modification of the voice, expressing emotion; tone.
- 6The distinctive manner of pronouncing a language associated with a particular region, social group, etc., whether of a native speaker or a foreign speaker; the phonetic and phonological aspects of a dialect.
- 7The distinctive manner of pronouncing a language associated with a particular region, social group, etc., whether of a native speaker or a foreign speaker; the phonetic and phonological aspects of a dialect.
- 8The distinctive manner of pronouncing a language associated with a particular region, social group, etc., whether of a native speaker or a foreign speaker; the phonetic and phonological aspects of a dialect.
- 9A word; a significant tone or sound.
- 10Expressions in general; speech.
- 11Stress laid on certain syllables of a verse.
- 12A regularly recurring stress upon the tone to mark the beginning, and, more feebly, the third part of the measure.
- 13A special emphasis of a tone, even in the weaker part of the measure.
- 14A mark used to represent this special emphasis.
- 15The rhythmical accent, which marks phrases and sections of a period.
- 16A prime symbol.
- 17Emphasis laid on a part of an artistic design or composition; an emphasized detail, in particular a detail in sharp contrast to its surroundings.
- 18A very small gemstone set into a piece of jewellery.
- 19Utterance.
Etymology
From Middle English accent, from Medieval Latin accentus and Old French accent, acent, both from Latin accentus, past participle of accinō (“sing to, sing along”). The word accent had been borrowed into Old English already, but was lost and reborrowed in Middle English.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: accennt,accentt,accetn,accnet,acecnt,acent,cacent
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of accent - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "accent"?
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Using “accent”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-C-C-E-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈak.sənt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “acct” - see the side-by-side comparison. accent vs acct
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.