clarifying
/ˈklæɹɪfaɪ.ɪŋ/
"clarifying" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“clarifying” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #22,037 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #22,037
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 16
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - present participle and gerund of clarify
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | clarifying |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈklæɹɪfaɪ.ɪŋ/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #22,037 |
| Misspellings tracked | 16 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “clarifying” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for clarifying is 10 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈklæɹɪfaɪ.ɪŋ/. Corpus data places it at rank #22,037 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "present participle and gerund of clarify".
Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for clarifying, with forms such as "calrifying", "cclarifying", and "clairfying". 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. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is clarifying, spelled C-L-A-R-I-F-Y-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1present participle and gerund of clarify
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: calrifying,cclarifying,clairfying,clarfiying,clariffying,clarifiyng,clarifyign,clarifyingg,clarifyinng,clarifynig,clarifyying,clariyfing,clarrifying,cllarifying,clraifying,lcarifying
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of clarifying - 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
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Using “clarifying”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-L-A-R-I-F-Y-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈklæɹɪfaɪ.ɪŋ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.