cense
/sɛns/
"cense" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cense” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To perfume with incense.
Corpus desk
Index EN-cense · cense · English
cense · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "C" 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cense |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /sɛns/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “cense” in English
Rare enough to double-check
cense is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /sɛns/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To perfume with incense.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for cense, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Backformation from incense The correct English form is cense, spelled C-E-N-S-E.
Definition
- 1To perfume with incense.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how cense appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The Salii sing and 'cense his altars round.
Alternatively he would make a pretty good deacon: tall, well built, with quite a good voice, assiduously censing every nook and cranny, endowed with a certain histrionic talent, and perhaps also a genuine devotion to the service of God.
Etymology
Backformation from incense
This word in other languages
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.