approval
/əˈpɹuːvəl/
"approval" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“approval” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,978. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #2,978
- frequency rank, English
- 3,931
- “A” headwords
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An expression granting permission; an indication of agreement with a proposal; an acknowledgement that a person, thing, or event meets requirements.
Corpus desk
Index EN-approval · approval · English
approval · rank #2,978 · 10 variants · 3 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #2,978
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
- VAR-MID 10 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,931
- PHOTO-FINISH aged
Nearest frequency peer: aged (-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 “approval”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- wise
wise
97,026 corpus weight
- yards
yards
97,025 corpus weight
- aged
aged
97,024 corpus weight
- approval
approval
97,023 corpus weight
- aspects
aspects
97,022 corpus weight
- attempts
attempts
97,021 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “approval” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | approval |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /əˈpɹuːvəl/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #2,978 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “approval” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 10 spelling variants around approval (IPA /əˈpɹuːvəl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,978 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for approval, with forms such as "apporval", "approavl", and "approvall". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "approve", "approved", "approves", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *pér Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *pró Proto-Indo-European *pro-der. Proto… The correct English form is approval, spelled A-P-P-R-O-V-A-L.
Definition
- 1An expression granting permission; an indication of agreement with a proposal; an acknowledgement that a person, thing, or event meets requirements.
- 2An expression of favorable acceptance and encouragement; a compliment that also condones.
- 3Something mailed by a seller to a collector to match their stated interests; the collector can approve of or return the item.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how approval appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
I need to get an approval on this purchase order.
Words of approval never seem to come from him.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *pér Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *pró Proto-Indo-European *pro-der. Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH-der. Proto-Italic *proβwos Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Proto-Italic *proβwāō Latin probō Latin approbōder. Old French aproverbor. Middle English aproven English approve Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al English -al English approval From approve + -al.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- apporval
- approavl
- approvall
- approvla
- approvval
- apprroval
- apprvoal
- aproval
- aprpoval
- paproval
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of approval - 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.
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 "approval"?
What does "approval" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "approval"?
How do you pronounce "approval"?
What is the origin of the word "approval"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "approval", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "approval". Here's where to go from here.
- "approval" maps to 3 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "approve". View pair
- 10 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #2,978 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.