attention

/əˈtɛn.ʃn̩/

//əˈtɛn.ʃn̩// noun

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

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

The verdict

“attention” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #800. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#800
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Mental focus.

Corpus desk

Index EN-attention · attention · English

attention · rank #800 · 12 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #800
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH various

Nearest frequency peer: various (-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 “attention”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “attention” 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).

attention vs attentive
78% similar
attention vs attrition
78% similar
attention vs attentions
90% similar

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

Key facts for attention
PropertyValue
Headwordattention
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈtɛn.ʃn̩/
Letters9
Frequency rank#800
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “attention” 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).attentionlands 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 “various” (#799), “brother” (#801), “upon” (#798). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around attention (IPA /əˈtɛn.ʃn̩/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #800 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for attention, with forms such as "atention", "atetntion", and "atteniton". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "attentive", "attrition", "attentions", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *ten- Proto-Indo-European *tend-der. Proto-Italic *tendō Latin tendō Latin attendō Proto-Indo-European *-tisder. Proto-Italic *-tjō Latin -tiō Latin at… The correct English form is attention, spelled A-T-T-E-N-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Mental focus.
  2. 2
    An action or remark expressing concern for or interest in someone or something, especially romantic interest.
  3. 3
    A state of alertness in the standing position.
  4. 4
    A kind of prioritisation technique in neural networks that assigns soft weights between tokens from two (or more) input sequences in order to compute the required output.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Please direct your attention to the following words.
  2. Most of the pictures of common life that we meet with in books are drawn in the shape of novels, with the view of attracting the attention of indolent readers; the question with authors being, not of what can I inform my neighbour by which he may be improved in head or heart, mind or morals? but what is the fashion of public taste? that by pandering to it…

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *ten- Proto-Indo-European *tend-der. Proto-Italic *tendō Latin tendō Latin attendō Proto-Indo-European *-tisder. Proto-Italic *-tjō Latin -tiō Latin attentiōbor. Middle English attencioun English attention From Middle English attencioun, borrowed from Latin attentio, attentionis, from attendere, past participle attentus (“to attend, give heed to”); see attend. Equivalent to attend + -tion.

Synonyms

advertenceadvertencyattentionconsiderationheedheedfulnessmarkmindnotenoticeobservanceobservationreflectionregard

Antonyms

apathyinattentionneglectoversight

This word in other languages

atención(Español)attention(Français)Aufmerksamkeit(Deutsch)sentido(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • atention
  • atetntion
  • atteniton
  • attenntion
  • attension
  • attentino
  • attentionn
  • attentoin
  • attenttion
  • attetnion
  • attnetion
  • tatention

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

atention1atetntion2atteniton2attenntion1attension1attentino2attentionn1attentoin2
Edit distance from "attention"

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 "attention"?
"attention" is spelled A-T-T-E-N-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈtɛn.ʃn̩/.
What does "attention" mean?
As a noun, "attention" means: Mental focus.
What words are commonly confused with "attention"?
"attention" is commonly confused with "attentive", "attrition", "attentions". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "attention"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "attention" is /əˈtɛn.ʃn̩/. 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 "attention"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *ten- Proto-Indo-European *tend-der. Proto-Italic *tendō Latin tendō Latin attendō Proto-Indo-European *-tisder. Proto-Italic *-tjō Latin -ti... 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 "attention", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

character#803countries#762situation#857September#741

Similar misspelling depth

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

complete12 variantsinvolved12 variantsNovember12 variantswhatever12 variants

What to do next

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

  • "attention" maps to 4 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "attentive". View pair
  • 12 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #800 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