boding

/ˈbəʊdɪŋ/

//ˈbəʊdɪŋ// adj

"boding" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“boding” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - foreboding, ominous, portending.

Corpus desk

Index EN-boding · boding · English

boding · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "B" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for boding
PropertyValue
Headwordboding
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈbəʊdɪŋ/
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “boding” in English

bodingsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

boding is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈbəʊdɪŋ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "foreboding, ominous, portending.".

boding doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From bode + -ing. The correct English form is boding, spelled B-O-D-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    foreboding, ominous, portending.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. [E]very sound of nature, at that witching hour, fluttered his excited imagination: the moan of the whip-poor-will from the hill side; the boding cry of the tree-toad, that harbinger of storm; […]

Etymology

From bode + -ing.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "boding"?
"boding" is spelled B-O-D-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbəʊdɪŋ/.
What does "boding" mean?
As an adjective, "boding" means: foreboding, ominous, portending.
How do you pronounce "boding"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "boding" is /ˈbəʊdɪŋ/. 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 "boding"?
From bode + -ing. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list