commentary

/ˈkɒm.ən.t(ə.)ɹi/

//ˈkɒm.ən.t(ə.)ɹi// noun

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

"commentary" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“commentary” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,203. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,203
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A series of comments or annotations; especially, a book of explanations or expositions on the whole or a part of some other work.

Corpus desk

Index EN-commentary · commentary · English

commentary · rank #5,203 · 14 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,203
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH colored

Nearest frequency peer: colored (-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 “commentary”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “commentary” 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).

commentary vs commenter
80% similar

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

Key facts for commentary
PropertyValue
Headwordcommentary
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɒm.ən.t(ə.)ɹi/
Letters10
Frequency rank#5,203
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “commentary”

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).commentarylands 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 “colored” (#5,202), “confusion” (#5,204), “coin” (#5,201). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “commentary” is #5,203. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around commentary (IPA /ˈkɒm.ən.t(ə.)ɹi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,203 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for commentary, with forms such as "ccommentary", "cmomentary", and "comemntary". 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. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "commenter", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French commentaire, from Latin commentārius, commentārium (“notebook”), compare French commentaire. See comment. The correct English form is commentary, spelled C-O-M-M-E-N-T-A-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A series of comments or annotations; especially, a book of explanations or expositions on the whole or a part of some other work.
  2. 2
    A brief account of transactions or events written hastily, as if for a memorandum.
  3. 3
    An oral relation of an event, especially broadcast by television or radio, as it occurs.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. This letter […] was published by him with a severe commentary.
  2. Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War

Etymology

From Middle French commentaire, from Latin commentārius, commentārium (“notebook”), compare French commentaire. See comment.

Synonyms

scholiasecondary source

This word in other languages

comentario(Español)Kommentar(Deutsch)comentário(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccommentary
  • cmomentary
  • comemntary
  • comentary
  • commenatry
  • commenntary
  • commentarry
  • commentaryy
  • commentayr
  • commentray
  • commenttary
  • commetnary
  • commnetary
  • ocmmentary

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccommentary1cmomentary2comemntary2comentary1commenatry2commenntary1commentarry1commentaryy1
Edit distance from "commentary"

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 "commentary"?
"commentary" is spelled C-O-M-M-E-N-T-A-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɒm.ən.t(ə.)ɹi/.
What does "commentary" mean?
As a noun, "commentary" means: A series of comments or annotations; especially, a book of explanations or expositions on the whole or a part of some other work.
What words are commonly confused with "commentary"?
"commentary" is commonly confused with "commenter". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "commentary"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "commentary" is /ˈkɒm.ən.t(ə.)ɹi/. 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 "commentary"?
From Middle French commentaire, from Latin commentārius, commentārium (“notebook”), compare French commentaire. See comment. 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 "commentary", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

excitement#5,218terrorists#5,167respective#5,258restricted#5,259

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

confusion14 variantsnightmare14 variantsovernight14 variantsproposals14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list