belated

/bɪˈleɪtɪd/

//bɪˈleɪtɪd// verb

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

"belated" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“belated” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #28,128. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#28,128
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
17
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - simple past and past participle of belate

Corpus desk

Index EN-belated · belated · English

belated · rank #28,128 · 10 variants · 17 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #28,128
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 17 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH beatings

Nearest frequency peer: beatings (-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 “belated”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “belated” 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).

belated vs blamed
71% similar
belated vs bolted
71% similar
belated vs blazed
71% similar

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

Key facts for belated
PropertyValue
Headwordbelated
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/bɪˈleɪtɪd/
Letters7
Frequency rank#28,128
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs17
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “belated”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).belatedlands 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 “beatings” (#28,127), “bello” (#28,129), “Bashir” (#28,126). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “belated” is #28,128. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around belated (IPA /bɪˈleɪtɪd/), averb. Corpus frequency is #28,128 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Dominant gloss: "simple past and past participle of belate".

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for belated, with forms such as "bbelated", "bealted", and "belaetd". 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 17 confusable-pair relationships, "blamed", "bolted", "blazed", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is belated, spelled B-E-L-A-T-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of belate

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbelated
  • bealted
  • belaetd
  • belatde
  • belatedd
  • belatted
  • bellated
  • beltaed
  • bleated
  • eblated

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bbelated1bealted2belaetd2belatde2belatedd1belatted1bellated1beltaed2
Edit distance from "belated"

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 "belated"?
"belated" is spelled B-E-L-A-T-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /bɪˈleɪtɪd/.
What does "belated" mean?
As a verb, "belated" means: simple past and past participle of belate
What words are commonly confused with "belated"?
"belated" is commonly confused with "blamed", "bolted", "blazed". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "belated"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "belated" is /bɪˈleɪtɪd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "belated" come from?
"belated" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "belated", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

barista#28,124Aquinas#28,119Candace#28,146Algiers#28,108

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

alluring10 variantsconcave10 variantsaccorded10 variantswidower10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list