altercation

/ˌɔːltəˈkeɪʃn̩/

//ˌɔːltəˈkeɪʃn̩// noun

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

"altercation" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“altercation” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #24,650. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#24,650
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
17
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An angry or heated dispute.

Corpus desk

Index EN-altercation · altercation · English

altercation · rank #24,650 · 17 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #24,650
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH alta

Nearest frequency peer: alta (-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 “altercation”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “altercation” 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).

altercation vs alteration
91% similar

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

Key facts for altercation
PropertyValue
Headwordaltercation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌɔːltəˈkeɪʃn̩/
Letters11
Frequency rank#24,650
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “altercation”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).altercationlands 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 “alta” (#24,649), “amplification” (#24,651), “amuse” (#24,652). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “altercation” is #24,650. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around altercation (IPA /ˌɔːltəˈkeɪʃn̩/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #24,650 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for altercation, with forms such as "aletrcation", "alltercation", and "altecration". 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, "alteration", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin altercātiō. Cognates * Catalan altercació * Italian altercazione * Occitan altercatio, altercassion * Portuguese altercação * Spanish altercación The correct English form is altercation, spelled A-L-T-E-R-C-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    An angry or heated dispute.
  2. 2
    An act of posing questions to, and obtaining answers from, a witness in a court of law.
  3. 3
    Angry or heated disputation.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. to get into an altercation over (something)
  2. The shooting resulted from an altercation between two armed intoxicated men.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin altercātiō. Cognates * Catalan altercació * Italian altercazione * Occitan altercatio, altercassion * Portuguese altercação * Spanish altercación

This word in other languages

altercado(Español)altercation(Français)Auseinandersetzung(Deutsch)altercação(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aletrcation
  • alltercation
  • altecration
  • alteraction
  • altercaiton
  • altercasion
  • altercatino
  • altercationn
  • altercatoin
  • altercattion
  • alterccation
  • alterctaion
  • alterrcation
  • altrecation
  • alttercation
  • atlercation
  • latercation

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

aletrcation2alltercation1altecration2alteraction2altercaiton2altercasion1altercatino2altercationn1
Edit distance from "altercation"

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 "altercation"?
"altercation" is spelled A-L-T-E-R-C-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌɔːltəˈkeɪʃn̩/.
What does "altercation" mean?
As a noun, "altercation" means: An angry or heated dispute.
What words are commonly confused with "altercation"?
"altercation" is commonly confused with "alteration". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "altercation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "altercation" is /ˌɔːltəˈkeɪʃn̩/. 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 "altercation"?
Borrowed from Latin altercātiō. Cognates * Catalan altercació * Italian altercazione * Occitan altercatio, altercassion * Portuguese altercação * Spanish altercación 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 "altercation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

aggravating#24,647Bakersfield#24,672Bangladeshi#24,673Bartholomew#24,676

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

unbreakable17 variantsRothschild17 variantsparentheses17 variantsinseparable17 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list