coincidence

/kəʊˈɪnsɪdəns/

//kəʊˈɪnsɪdəns// noun

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

"coincidence" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“coincidence” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,542. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,542
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
17
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of objects, the property of being coincident; occurring at the same time or place.

Corpus desk

Index EN-coincidence · coincidence · English

coincidence · rank #7,542 · 17 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,542
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH closes

Nearest frequency peer: closes (-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 “coincidence”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “coincidence” 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).

coincidence vs confidence
82% similar

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

Key facts for coincidence
PropertyValue
Headwordcoincidence
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kəʊˈɪnsɪdəns/
Letters11
Frequency rank#7,542
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “coincidence”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).coincidencelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “closes” (#7,541), “comedian” (#7,543), “clearance” (#7,540). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “coincidence” is #7,542. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around coincidence (IPA /kəʊˈɪnsɪdəns/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,542 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for coincidence, with forms such as "ccoincidence", "cioncidence", and "coicnidence". 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, "confidence", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French coincidence (French coïncidence). By surface analysis, coincide + -ence. The correct English form is coincidence, spelled C-O-I-N-C-I-D-E-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of objects, the property of being coincident; occurring at the same time or place.
  2. 2
    Of events, the appearance of a meaningful connection when there is none.
  3. 3
    A coincidence point.
  4. 4
    A fixed point of a correspondence; a point of a variety corresponding to itself under a correspondence.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. That the two writers were born and died on the same day is just a coincidence, although there are many conspiracy theories about it.
  2. It is sheer coincidence that the cartoon resembles the local politician.

Etymology

From Middle French coincidence (French coïncidence). By surface analysis, coincide + -ence.

Synonyms

concurrentnesssynchronicitysimultaneousnesscoincidence point

This word in other languages

coincidencia(Español)coïncidence(Français)Koinzidenz(Deutsch)coincidência(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccoincidence
  • cioncidence
  • coicnidence
  • coinccidence
  • coincdience
  • coincidance
  • coinciddence
  • coincidecne
  • coincidencce
  • coincidenec
  • coincidennce
  • coincidnece
  • coinciednce
  • coinicdence
  • coinncidence
  • conicidence
  • ocincidence

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccoincidence1cioncidence2coicnidence2coinccidence1coincdience2coincidance1coinciddence1coincidecne2
Edit distance from "coincidence"

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 "coincidence"?
"coincidence" is spelled C-O-I-N-C-I-D-E-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /kəʊˈɪnsɪdəns/.
What does "coincidence" mean?
As a noun, "coincidence" means: Of objects, the property of being coincident; occurring at the same time or place.
What words are commonly confused with "coincidence"?
"coincidence" is commonly confused with "confidence". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "coincidence"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "coincidence" is /kəʊˈɪnsɪdəns/. 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 "coincidence"?
From Middle French coincidence (French coïncidence). By surface analysis, coincide + -ence. 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 "coincidence", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

circulation#7,539frustration#7,451frustrating#7,450foundations#7,448

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

fortunately17 variantsdetermining17 variantsdramatically17 variantsquarterback17 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list