afternoon

/ˌɑːf.təˈnuːn/

//ˌɑːf.təˈnuːn// noun

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

"afternoon" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“afternoon” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,927. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,927
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The part of the day from noon or lunchtime until sunset, evening, or suppertime or 6pm.

Corpus desk

Index EN-afternoon · afternoon · English

afternoon · rank #1,927 · 13 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,927
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH victory

Nearest frequency peer: victory (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “afternoon”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “afternoon” 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).

afternoon vs afternoons
90% similar

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

Key facts for afternoon
PropertyValue
Headwordafternoon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌɑːf.təˈnuːn/
Letters9
Frequency rank#1,927
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “afternoon”

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).afternoonlands 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. Same rarity band neighbours include “victory” (#1,926), “assistant” (#1,928), “tea” (#1,925). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “afternoon” is #1,927. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around afternoon (IPA /ˌɑːf.təˈnuːn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,927 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for afternoon, with forms such as "afetrnoon", "affternoon", and "aftenroon". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "afternoons", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English afternone, after-non, equivalent to after- + noon. The correct English form is afternoon, spelled A-F-T-E-R-N-O-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The part of the day from noon or lunchtime until sunset, evening, or suppertime or 6pm.
  2. 2
    The later part of anything, often with implications of decline.
  3. 3
    A party or social event held in the afternoon.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Theſe men ſerue God in the forenoone, and the diuell in the after noone;
  2. The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on a certain afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track. The three returned wondering and charmed with Mrs. Cooke; they were sure she had had no hand in the furnishing of that atrocious house.

Etymology

From Middle English afternone, after-non, equivalent to after- + noon.

Synonyms

arvoaftundernafternoonundertime

Antonyms

morning

This word in other languages

tarde(Español)après-midi(Français)Nachmittag(Deutsch)tarde(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • afetrnoon
  • affternoon
  • aftenroon
  • afternnoon
  • afternon
  • afternono
  • afternoonn
  • afteronon
  • afterrnoon
  • aftrenoon
  • aftternoon
  • atfernoon
  • faternoon

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of afternoon - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

afetrnoon2affternoon1aftenroon2afternnoon1afternon1afternono2afternoonn1afteronon2
Edit distance from "afternoon"

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 "afternoon"?
"afternoon" is spelled A-F-T-E-R-N-O-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌɑːf.təˈnuːn/.
What does "afternoon" mean?
As a noun, "afternoon" means: The part of the day from noon or lunchtime until sunset, evening, or suppertime or 6pm.
What words are commonly confused with "afternoon"?
"afternoon" is commonly confused with "afternoons". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "afternoon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "afternoon" is /ˌɑːf.təˈnuːn/. 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 "afternoon"?
From Middle English afternone, after-non, equivalent to after- + noon. 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 "afternoon", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

assistant#1,928decisions#1,933emergency#1,935excellent#1,896

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

presence13 variantstransfer13 variantsstrategy13 variantssomewhere13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list