condescendence

noun

"condescendence" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“condescendence” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
14
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of condescending; voluntary descent from one's rank or dignity in intercourse with an inferior; courtesy toward inferiors, condescension.

Corpus desk

Index EN-condescendence · condescendence · English

condescendence · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 14 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for condescendence
PropertyValue
Headwordcondescendence
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “condescendence” in English

condescendenceranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

condescendence is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

condescendence has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French condescendance, from condescendre, from Late Latin condescendere (“to let oneself down, stoop, condescend”), from Latin com- (“together”) + descendere (“to come down”). See condescend. The correct English form is condescendence, spelled C-O-N-D-E-S-C-E-N-D-E-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of condescending; voluntary descent from one's rank or dignity in intercourse with an inferior; courtesy toward inferiors, condescension.
  2. 2
    An articulate statement annexed to a summons, setting forth the allegations in fact upon which an action is founded.

Etymology

From French condescendance, from condescendre, from Late Latin condescendere (“to let oneself down, stoop, condescend”), from Latin com- (“together”) + descendere (“to come down”). See condescend.

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "condescendence"?
"condescendence" is spelled C-O-N-D-E-S-C-E-N-D-E-N-C-E.
What does "condescendence" mean?
As a noun, "condescendence" means: The act of condescending; voluntary descent from one's rank or dignity in intercourse with an inferior; courtesy toward inferiors, condescension.
What is the origin of the word "condescendence"?
From French condescendance, from condescendre, from Late Latin condescendere (“to let oneself down, stoop, condescend”), from Latin com- (“together”) + descendere (“to come down”). See condescend. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
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Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list