benevolence
/bəˈnɛvələns/
"benevolence" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“benevolence” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #37,823 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #37,823
- frequency rank, English
- 11
- letters
- 17
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Disposition to do good.
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 | benevolence |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /bəˈnɛvələns/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #37,823 |
| Misspellings tracked | 17 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “benevolence” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for benevolence is 11 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /bəˈnɛvələns/. Corpus data places it at rank #37,823 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for benevolence, with forms such as "bbenevolence", "beenvolence", and "beneovlence". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "benevolent", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Circa 1400, original sense “good will, disposition to do good”, Old French benivolence from Latin benevolentia (also directly from Latin), literally “good will”, from bene (“well, good”) + volentia, form of volēns, form of volō (“I wish”), components cognat… The correct English form is benevolence, spelled B-E-N-E-V-O-L-E-N-C-E.
Definition
- 1Disposition to do good.
- 2Charitable kindness.
- 3An altruistic gift or act.
- 4A kind of forced loan or contribution levied by kings without legal authority, first so called under Edward IV in 1473.
Etymology
Circa 1400, original sense “good will, disposition to do good”, Old French benivolence from Latin benevolentia (also directly from Latin), literally “good will”, from bene (“well, good”) + volentia, form of volēns, form of volō (“I wish”), components cognate to English benefit and voluntary, more distantly will (via Proto-Indo-European).
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: bbenevolence,beenvolence,beneovlence,benevloence,benevoelnce,benevolance,benevolecne,benevolencce,benevolenec,benevolennce,benevollence,benevolnece,benevvolence,bennevolence,benveolence,bneevolence,ebnevolence
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of benevolence - 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "benevolence"?
What does "benevolence" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "benevolence"?
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Using “benevolence”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-E-N-E-V-O-L-E-N-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /bəˈnɛvələns/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “benevolent” - see the side-by-side comparison. benevolence vs benevolent
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.