accent
/ˈak.sənt/
"accent" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“accent” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,655. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #5,655
- frequency rank, English
- 3,931
- “A” headwords
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 17
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 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.
Corpus desk
Index EN-accent · accent · English
accent · rank #5,655 · 7 variants · 17 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #5,655
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 17 pairs
- VAR-MID 7 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,931
- PHOTO-FINISH abstract
Nearest frequency peer: abstract (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “accent”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- 9th
9th
94,349 corpus weight
- aboard
aboard
94,348 corpus weight
- abstract
abstract
94,347 corpus weight
- accent
accent
94,346 corpus weight
- addiction
addiction
94,345 corpus weight
- associates
associates
94,344 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “accent” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 7 spelling variants around accent (IPA /ˈak.sənt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,655 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 19 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
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.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how accent appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
In the word "careful", the accent is placed on the first syllable.
At this hotel, the accent is on luxury.
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"?
What does "accent" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "accent"?
How do you pronounce "accent"?
What is the origin of the word "accent"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "accent", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "accent". Here's where to go from here.
- "accent" maps to 17 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "acct". View pair
- 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #5,655 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "A" letter cohort. A–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.