comprehend
/kɒmpɹɪˈhɛnd/
"comprehend" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“comprehend” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,183. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #11,183
- frequency rank, English
- 5,599
- “C” headwords
- 16
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To understand or grasp fully and thoroughly; to plumb.
Corpus desk
Index EN-comprehend · comprehend · English
comprehend · rank #11,183 · 16 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-MID #11,183
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-HIGH 16 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 5,599
- PHOTO-FINISH cinnamon
Nearest frequency peer: cinnamon (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “comprehend”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- Christie
Christie
88,821 corpus weight
- chronicle
chronicle
88,820 corpus weight
- cinnamon
cinnamon
88,819 corpus weight
- comprehend
comprehend
88,818 corpus weight
- compulsory
compulsory
88,817 corpus weight
- confederate
confederate
88,816 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “comprehend” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | comprehend |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /kɒmpɹɪˈhɛnd/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #11,183 |
| Misspellings tracked | 16 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “comprehend” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 16 spelling variants around comprehend (IPA /kɒmpɹɪˈhɛnd/), averb. Corpus frequency is #11,183 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for comprehend, with forms such as "ccomprehend", "cmoprehend", and "commprehend". 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, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English comprehenden, from Latin comprehendere (“to grasp”), from the prefix com- + prehendere (“to seize”). Doublet of comprend. The correct English form is comprehend, spelled C-O-M-P-R-E-H-E-N-D.
Definition
- 1To understand or grasp fully and thoroughly; to plumb.
- 2To include, comprise; to contain.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how comprehend appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
I just can't comprehend how someone could be a butcher and vegetarian at the same time.
Our ſoules, whoſe faculties can comprehend The wondrous Architecture of the world: And meaſure euery wandring planets courſe, Still climing after knowledge infinite, […]
Etymology
From Middle English comprehenden, from Latin comprehendere (“to grasp”), from the prefix com- + prehendere (“to seize”). Doublet of comprend.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ccomprehend
- cmoprehend
- commprehend
- comperhend
- compprehend
- compreehnd
- comprehedn
- comprehendd
- comprehennd
- comprehhend
- comprehned
- comprheend
- comprrehend
- comrpehend
- copmrehend
- ocmprehend
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of comprehend - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "comprehend"?
What does "comprehend" mean?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "comprehend", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "comprehend". Here's where to go from here.
- 16 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #11,183 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "C" letter cohort. C–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.