brevity

/ˈbɹɛvɪti/

//ˈbɹɛvɪti// noun

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

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

The verdict

“brevity” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #34,806. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#34,806
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The quality of being brief in duration.

Corpus desk

Index EN-brevity · brevity · English

brevity · rank #34,806 · 11 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #34,806
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH brainstorm

Nearest frequency peer: brainstorm (-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 “brevity”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “brevity” 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).

brevity vs Brexit
57% similar

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

Key facts for brevity
PropertyValue
Headwordbrevity
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbɹɛvɪti/
Letters7
Frequency rank#34,806
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “brevity”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).brevitylands 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 “brainstorm” (#34,805), “broadside” (#34,807), “buckles” (#34,808). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “brevity” is #34,806. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around brevity (IPA /ˈbɹɛvɪti/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #34,806 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for brevity, with forms such as "bbrevity", "bervity", and "breivty". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "Brexit", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in English in 1509; either: * Borrowed directly from Latin brevitās; or * from Anglo-Norman brevité, from Old French brieveté, from Latin brevitātem, accusative of brevitās, from brevis (“short”). By surface analysis, brief + -ity. The correct English form is brevity, spelled B-R-E-V-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The quality of being brief in duration.
  2. 2
    Succinctness; conciseness.
  3. 3
    A short piece of writing.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Thanks to Global Positioning Systems we can see that Europe and North America are parting at about the speed a fingernail grows—roughly two yards in a human lifetime. If you were prepared to wait long enough, you could ride from Los Angeles all the way up to San Francisco. It is only the brevity of lifetimes that keeps us from appreciating the changes.
  2. [B]revity is the soul of wit, And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes[.]

Etymology

First attested in English in 1509; either: * Borrowed directly from Latin brevitās; or * from Anglo-Norman brevité, from Old French brieveté, from Latin brevitātem, accusative of brevitās, from brevis (“short”). By surface analysis, brief + -ity.

Synonyms

ephemeralityfleetingnesstransiencytransienceconcisionlaconicismtersenesssuccinctness

This word in other languages

brevedad(Español)concision(Français)Kürze(Deutsch)brevidade(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbrevity
  • bervity
  • breivty
  • brevitty
  • brevityy
  • breviyt
  • brevtiy
  • brevvity
  • brrevity
  • brveity
  • rbevity

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bbrevity1bervity2breivty2brevitty1brevityy1breviyt2brevtiy2brevvity1
Edit distance from "brevity"

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 "brevity"?
"brevity" is spelled B-R-E-V-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɹɛvɪti/.
What does "brevity" mean?
As a noun, "brevity" means: The quality of being brief in duration.
What words are commonly confused with "brevity"?
"brevity" is commonly confused with "Brexit". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "brevity"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "brevity" is /ˈbɹɛvɪti/. 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 "brevity"?
First attested in English in 1509; either: * Borrowed directly from Latin brevitās; or * from Anglo-Norman brevité, from Old French brieveté, from Latin brevitātem, accusative of brevitās, from brevis (“short”). By surface analysis, brief + -ity. 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 "brevity", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

buckles#34,808blemish#34,802cadmium#34,813candida#34,816

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Belleville11 variantsbabbling11 variantsadequacy11 variantscuckold11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list