affront

/əˈfɹʌnt/

//əˈfɹʌnt// verb

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

"affront" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“affront” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #33,109. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#33,109
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
9
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To insult intentionally, especially openly.

Corpus desk

Index EN-affront · affront · English

affront · rank #33,109 · 9 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #33,109
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH adsorption

Nearest frequency peer: adsorption (-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 “affront”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “affront” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for affront
PropertyValue
Headwordaffront
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/əˈfɹʌnt/
Letters7
Frequency rank#33,109
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “affront” sits in English frequency

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).affront lands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around affront (IPA /əˈfɹʌnt/), averb. Corpus frequency is #33,109 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for affront, with forms such as "affornt", "affrnot", and "affronnt". 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 is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English afrounten, from Old French afronter (“to hit in the face; to defy”), from Vulgar Latin *affrontare (“to hit in the face”), from Latin ad (“to”) + frōns (“forehead”) (English front). The correct English form is affront, spelled A-F-F-R-O-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To insult intentionally, especially openly.
  2. 2
    To meet defiantly; to confront.
  3. 3
    To meet or encounter face to face.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. But beſides, that ſuch a thought was inconſiſtent with the gravity of a Senate, how can one imagine that the Fathers would have dared affront the Wife of Aurelius, and the Mother of Commodus, or that they could think of giving offence to an Empreſs whom they afterwards Defied, and to an Emperor that was the darling of the army and people?
  2. to affront death

Etymology

From Middle English afrounten, from Old French afronter (“to hit in the face; to defy”), from Vulgar Latin *affrontare (“to hit in the face”), from Latin ad (“to”) + frōns (“forehead”) (English front).

This word in other languages

afrentar(Español)défier(Français)beleidigen(Deutsch)afrontar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • affornt
  • affrnot
  • affronnt
  • affrontt
  • affrotn
  • affrront
  • afrfont
  • afront
  • fafront

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of affront - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

affornt2affrnot2affronnt1affrontt1affrotn2affrront1afrfont2afront1
Edit distance from "affront"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "affront"?
"affront" is spelled A-F-F-R-O-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈfɹʌnt/.
What does "affront" mean?
As a verb, "affront" means: To insult intentionally, especially openly.
What are common misspellings of "affront"?
Common misspellings include "affornt", "affrnot", "affronnt", "affrontt", "affrotn". The correct spelling is "affront".
How do you pronounce "affront"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "affront" is /əˈfɹʌnt/. 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 "affront"?
From Middle English afrounten, from Old French afronter (“to hit in the face; to defy”), from Vulgar Latin *affrontare (“to hit in the face”), from Latin ad (“to”) + frōns (“forehead”) (English front). 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 "affront", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

alludes#33,113wingman#33,089wetting#33,083Balmain#33,140

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

welder9 variantswedged9 variantsbeehive9 variantsBering9 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "affront". Here's where to go from here.

  • 9 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #33,109 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list