attempted

/əˈtɛmptɪd/

//əˈtɛmptɪd// adj

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

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

The verdict

“attempted” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,469. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,469
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Tried, with the connotation of failure.

Corpus desk

Index EN-attempted · attempted · English

attempted · rank #3,469 · 12 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,469
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH assist

Nearest frequency peer: assist (-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 “attempted”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “attempted” 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).

attempted vs attempts
78% similar
attempted vs attested
78% similar
attempted vs attempt
78% similar

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

Key facts for attempted
PropertyValue
Headwordattempted
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/əˈtɛmptɪd/
Letters9
Frequency rank#3,469
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “attempted”

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).attemptedlands 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 “assist” (#3,468), “behalf” (#3,470), “architecture” (#3,467). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “attempted” is #3,469. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around attempted (IPA /əˈtɛmptɪd/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #3,469 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Tried, with the connotation of failure.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for attempted, with forms such as "atempted", "atetmpted", and "attemmpted". 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, "attempts", "attested", "attempt", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is attempted, spelled A-T-T-E-M-P-T-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Tried, with the connotation of failure.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. She is facing jail time for attempted robbery.
  2. An attempted coup.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • atempted
  • atetmpted
  • attemmpted
  • attempetd
  • attemppted
  • attemptde
  • attemptedd
  • attemptted
  • attemtped
  • attepmted
  • attmepted
  • tatempted

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of attempted - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

atempted1atetmpted2attemmpted1attempetd2attemppted1attemptde2attemptedd1attemptted1
Edit distance from "attempted"

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 "attempted"?
"attempted" is spelled A-T-T-E-M-P-T-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈtɛmptɪd/.
What does "attempted" mean?
As an adjective, "attempted" means: Tried, with the connotation of failure.
What words are commonly confused with "attempted"?
"attempted" is commonly confused with "attempts", "attested", "attempt". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "attempted"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "attempted" is /əˈtɛmptɪd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "attempted" come from?
"attempted" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "attempted", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

strategic#3,456economics#3,483efficient#3,484expecting#3,491

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

ceremony12 variantsdesigner12 variantsemployed12 variantsromantic12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list