agency

/ˈeɪ.d͡ʒən.si/

//ˈeɪ.d͡ʒən.si// noun

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

"agency" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“agency” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,415. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,415
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The capacity, condition, or state of acting or of exerting power.

Corpus desk

Index EN-agency · agency · English

agency · rank #1,415 · 9 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,415
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH William

Nearest frequency peer: William (-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 “agency”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “agency” 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).

agency vs agent
67% similar
agency vs agony
67% similar
agency vs agents
67% similar

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

Key facts for agency
PropertyValue
Headwordagency
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈeɪ.d͡ʒən.si/
Letters6
Frequency rank#1,415
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “agency”

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).agencylands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “William” (#1,414), “avoid” (#1,416), “uses” (#1,413). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “agency” is #1,415. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around agency (IPA /ˈeɪ.d͡ʒən.si/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,415 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for agency, with forms such as "aegncy", "agecny", and "agenccy". 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, "agent", "agony", "agents", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti Proto-Italic *agō Latin agō Medieval Latin agēns Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Medieval Latin -ius Medieval Latin -ia Medieval Latin agēntiabor. English age… The correct English form is agency, spelled A-G-E-N-C-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The capacity, condition, or state of acting or of exerting power.
  2. 2
    The capacity of individuals to act independently and to make their own free choices.
  3. 3
    A medium through which power is exerted or an end is achieved.
  4. 4
    The office or function of an agent; also, the relationship between a principal and that person's agent.
  5. 5
    An establishment engaged in doing business for another; also, the place of business or the district of such an agency.
  6. 6
    A department or other administrative unit of a government; also, the office or headquarters of, or the district administered by, such unit of government.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. A few advances there are in the following papers tending to assert the superintendence and agency of Providence in the natural world.
  2. Because structure in this argument means institutions— pregiven norms, values, beliefs, and practices— it is open-textured, incomplete, cannot guarantee its own applications, therefore, all behavior is action, has agency (Garfinkel 1964; Strauss et al. 1963).

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti Proto-Italic *agō Latin agō Medieval Latin agēns Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Medieval Latin -ius Medieval Latin -ia Medieval Latin agēntiabor. English agency From Medieval Latin agentia, from Latin agēns (present participle of agere (“to act”)), agentis (cognate with French agence, see also agent).

Synonyms

actionactivityagencyagentagentshipcausedeviceforcefunctionmeansoperationpower

This word in other languages

albedrío(Español)agentivité(Français)Wille(Deutsch)agência(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aegncy
  • agecny
  • agenccy
  • agencyy
  • agenncy
  • agenyc
  • aggency
  • agnecy
  • gaency

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

aegncy2agecny2agenccy1agencyy1agenncy1agenyc2aggency1agnecy2
Edit distance from "agency"

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 "agency"?
"agency" is spelled A-G-E-N-C-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈeɪ.d͡ʒən.si/.
What does "agency" mean?
As a noun, "agency" means: The capacity, condition, or state of acting or of exerting power.
What words are commonly confused with "agency"?
"agency" is commonly confused with "agent", "agony", "agents". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "agency"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "agency" is /ˈeɪ.d͡ʒən.si/. 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 "agency"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti Proto-Italic *agō Latin agō Medieval Latin agēns Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Medieval Latin -ius Medieval Latin -ia Medieval Latin agēntiabor. E... 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 "agency", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

camera#1,417theory#1,412prices#1,403nation#1,400

Similar misspelling depth

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

mission9 variantskilling9 variantshelped9 variantscomment9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list