blatant
/ˈbleɪtənt/
"blatant" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“blatant” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #15,968 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #15,968
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Obvious, on show; unashamed; loudly obtrusive or offensive.
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 | blatant |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈbleɪtənt/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #15,968 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “blatant” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for blatant is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbleɪtənt/. Corpus data places it at rank #15,968 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for blatant, with forms such as "baltant", "bblatant", and "blaatnt". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "blatantly", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Coined by Edmund Spenser in 1596 in "blatant beast". Probably a variation of *blatand (Scots blaitand (“bleating”)), present participle of blate, a variation of bleat, equivalent to blate + -ant. See bleat. In addition, it is suggested by Latin blatiō (“spe… The correct English form is blatant, spelled B-L-A-T-A-N-T.
Definition
- 1Obvious, on show; unashamed; loudly obtrusive or offensive.
- 2Bellowing; disagreeably clamorous; sounding loudly and harshly.
Etymology
Coined by Edmund Spenser in 1596 in "blatant beast". Probably a variation of *blatand (Scots blaitand (“bleating”)), present participle of blate, a variation of bleat, equivalent to blate + -ant. See bleat. In addition, it is suggested by Latin blatiō (“speak like a fool, prate”), which is rare, and so the similitude may be just coincidental. Compare typologically Bulgarian вопиющ (vopijušt), Russian вопию́щий (vopijúščij) (akin to вопи́ть (vopítʹ)).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: baltant,bblatant,blaatnt,blatannt,blatantt,blatatn,blatnat,blattant,bllatant,bltaant,lbatant
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of blatant - 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.
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 "blatant"?
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Using “blatant”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-L-A-T-A-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈbleɪtənt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “blatantly” - see the side-by-side comparison. blatant vs blatantly
- 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.