communication
/kəˌmjuː.nɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/
"communication" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“communication” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,103 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #2,103
- frequency rank, English
- 13
- letters
- 18
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The act or fact of communicating anything; transmission.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | communication |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /kəˌmjuː.nɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Frequency rank | #2,103 |
| Misspellings tracked | 18 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “communication” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for communication is 13 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kəˌmjuː.nɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,103 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 18 likely wrong-spelling variants for communication, with forms such as "ccommunication", "cmomunication", and "commnuication". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "communicator", "communicative", "communications", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English comunicacioun, communicacion (“discussion, association”), from Old French communicacion, from Latin commūnicātiōnem, accusative singular of commūnicātiō (“imparting, communicating”), from commūnicō (“to share, to impart”). Morp… The correct English form is communication, spelled C-O-M-M-U-N-I-C-A-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1The act or fact of communicating anything; transmission.
- 2The concept or state of exchanging data or information between entities.
- 3A message; the essential data transferred in an act of communication.
- 4The body of all data transferred to one or both parties during an act of communication.
- 5An instance of information transfer; a conversation or discourse.
- 6A passageway or opening between two locations; connection.
- 7A connection between two tissues, organs, or cavities.
- 8Association; company.
- 9Participation in Holy Communion.
- 10A trope by which a speaker assumes that his hearer is a partner in his sentiments, and says "we" instead of "I" or "you".
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English comunicacioun, communicacion (“discussion, association”), from Old French communicacion, from Latin commūnicātiōnem, accusative singular of commūnicātiō (“imparting, communicating”), from commūnicō (“to share, to impart”). Morphologically communicate + -ion.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccommunication,cmomunication,commnuication,commuincation,communciation,communiaction,communicaiton,communicasion,communicatino,communicationn,communicatoin,communicattion,communiccation,communictaion,communnication,comumnication,comunication,ocmmunication
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of communication - 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
How do you spell "communication"?
What does "communication" mean?
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What is the origin of the word "communication"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “communication”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-M-M-U-N-I-C-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /kəˌmjuː.nɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “communicator” - see the side-by-side comparison. communication vs communicator
- 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.