aspiration

/ˌæspəˈɹeɪʃən/

//ˌæspəˈɹeɪʃən// noun

"aspiration" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“aspiration” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,522. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,522
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of aspiring or ardently desiring; an ardent wish or desire, chiefly after what is elevated or spiritual (with common adjunct adpositions being to and of).

Corpus desk

Index EN-aspiration · aspiration · English

aspiration · rank #19,522 · 15 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #19,522
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH ASEAN

Nearest frequency peer: ASEAN (-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 “aspiration”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “aspiration” 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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

aspiration vs aspirational
83% similar
aspiration vs admiration
80% similar

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

Key facts for aspiration
PropertyValue
Headwordaspiration
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌæspəˈɹeɪʃən/
Letters10
Frequency rank#19,522
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “aspiration” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).aspirationlands 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 “ASEAN” (#19,521), “Atkins” (#19,523), “ascended” (#19,520). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around aspiration (IPA /ˌæspəˈɹeɪʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #19,522 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The act of aspiring or ardently desiring; an ardent wish or desire, chiefly after what is elevated or spiritual (with common adjunct adpositions being to and of).".

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for aspiration, with forms such as "apsiration", "asipration", and "aspiartion". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "aspirational", "admiration", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From aspire + -ation. The correct English form is aspiration, spelled A-S-P-I-R-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of aspiring or ardently desiring; an ardent wish or desire, chiefly after what is elevated or spiritual (with common adjunct adpositions being to and of).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Riley has an aspiration to become a doctor.
  2. Morgan has an aspiration of winning the game.

Etymology

From aspire + -ation.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • apsiration
  • asipration
  • aspiartion
  • aspiraiton
  • aspirasion
  • aspiratino
  • aspirationn
  • aspiratoin
  • aspirattion
  • aspirration
  • aspirtaion
  • asppiration
  • aspriation
  • asspiration
  • sapiration

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

apsiration2asipration2aspiartion2aspiraiton2aspirasion1aspiratino2aspirationn1aspiratoin2
Edit distance from "aspiration"

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 "aspiration"?
"aspiration" is spelled A-S-P-I-R-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌæspəˈɹeɪʃən/.
What does "aspiration" mean?
As a noun, "aspiration" means: The act of aspiring or ardently desiring; an ardent wish or desire, chiefly after what is elevated or spiritual (with common adjunct adpositions being to and of).
What words are commonly confused with "aspiration"?
"aspiration" is commonly confused with "aspirational", "admiration". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "aspiration"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "aspiration" is /ˌæspəˈɹeɪʃən/. 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 "aspiration"?
From aspire + -ation. 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 "aspiration", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

What to do next

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

  • "aspiration" maps to 2 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "aspirational". View pair
  • 15 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #19,522 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