adhering

verb

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

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

The verdict

“adhering” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #24,371. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#24,371
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - present participle and gerund of adhere

Corpus desk

Index EN-adhering · adhering · English

adhering · rank #24,371 · 12 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #24,371
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH acutely

Nearest frequency peer: acutely (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “adhering”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “adhering” 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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

adhering vs adoring
75% similar
adhering vs altering
75% similar
adhering vs admiring
75% similar

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

Key facts for adhering
PropertyValue
Headwordadhering
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters8
Frequency rank#24,371
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “adhering”

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).adheringlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “acutely” (#24,369), “Alexei” (#24,373), “ACS” (#24,368). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “adhering” is #24,371. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around adhering, averb. Corpus frequency is #24,371 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Dominant gloss: "present participle and gerund of adhere".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for adhering, with forms such as "addhering", "adehring", and "adheirng". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "adoring", "altering", "admiring", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English *adherynge, adherande, present participle of Middle English *adheren, from Old French *adherer, aderer and Medieval Latin adhaereō (“adhere”, verb), equivalent to adhere + -ing. The correct English form is adhering, spelled A-D-H-E-R-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of adhere

Etymology

From Middle English *adherynge, adherande, present participle of Middle English *adheren, from Old French *adherer, aderer and Medieval Latin adhaereō (“adhere”, verb), equivalent to adhere + -ing.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • addhering
  • adehring
  • adheirng
  • adherign
  • adheringg
  • adherinng
  • adhernig
  • adherring
  • adhhering
  • adhreing
  • ahdering
  • dahering

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of adhering - 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.

addhering1adehring2adheirng2adherign2adheringg1adherinng1adhernig2adherring1
Edit distance from "adhering"

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 "adhering"?
"adhering" is spelled A-D-H-E-R-I-N-G.
What does "adhering" mean?
As a verb, "adhering" means: present participle and gerund of adhere
What words are commonly confused with "adhering"?
"adhering" is commonly confused with "adoring", "altering", "admiring". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "adhering"?
From Middle English *adherynge, adherande, present participle of Middle English *adheren, from Old French *adherer, aderer and Medieval Latin adhaereō (“adhere”, verb), equivalent to adhere + -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 "adhering", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

baffling#24,385brownish#24,398tranquil#24,342burdened#24,401

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

allotment12 variantsunplanned12 variantschipotle12 variantscommotion12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list