conclave
/ˈkɒnkleɪv/
"conclave" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“conclave” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #36,498 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #36,498
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The set of apartments in which cardinals are secluded while the process to elect a pope takes place.
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 | conclave |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkɒnkleɪv/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #36,498 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “conclave” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for conclave is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkɒnkleɪv/. Corpus data places it at rank #36,498 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for conclave, with forms such as "cconclave", "cnoclave", and "cocnlave". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "conclude", "concave", "conceive", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *ḱóm The noun is derived from Late Middle English conclave (“private chamber; (Roman Catholicism) private room where election of the Pope takes place; meeting held for this purpose”), borrowed from Middle French conclave (modern French conclave), … The correct English form is conclave, spelled C-O-N-C-L-A-V-E.
Definition
- 1The set of apartments in which cardinals are secluded while the process to elect a pope takes place.
- 2A group of cardinals assembled to elect a new pope.
- 3A group of cardinals assembled to elect a new pope.
- 4A closed assembly at which cardinals elect a pope.
- 5A closed assembly at which cardinals elect a pope.
- 6A private chamber or room.
Etymology
PIE word *ḱóm The noun is derived from Late Middle English conclave (“private chamber; (Roman Catholicism) private room where election of the Pope takes place; meeting held for this purpose”), borrowed from Middle French conclave (modern French conclave), or directly from its etymon Latin conclāve (“chamber, room; enclosed space that can be locked; dining hall”), from con- (prefix denoting a being or bringing together of several objects) (combining form of cum (“(along) with”)) + clāvis (“key”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂w- (“(noun) crook, hook; peg; (verb) to close”)). The verb is derived from the noun.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: cconclave,cnoclave,cocnlave,concalve,concclave,conclaev,conclavve,concllave,conclvae,conlcave,connclave,ocnclave
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of conclave - 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.
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 "conclave"?
What does "conclave" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "conclave"?
How do you pronounce "conclave"?
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Using “conclave”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-N-C-L-A-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkɒnkleɪv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “conclude” - see the side-by-side comparison. conclave vs conclude
- 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.