condone

/kənˈdoʊn/

//kənˈdoʊn// verb

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

"condone" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“condone” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,215. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,215
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
12
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To forgive, excuse or overlook (something that is considered morally wrong, offensive, or generally disliked).

Corpus desk

Index EN-condone · condone · English

condone · rank #23,215 · 10 variants · 12 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,215
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 12 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH concordia

Nearest frequency peer: concordia (-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 “condone”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “condone” 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).

condone vs cordon
71% similar
condone vs Condos
57% similar
condone vs condor
71% similar

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

Key facts for condone
PropertyValue
Headwordcondone
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/kənˈdoʊn/
Letters7
Frequency rank#23,215
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs12
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “condone”

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).condonelands 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 “concordia” (#23,214), “congested” (#23,216), “conceivable” (#23,213). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “condone” is #23,215. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around condone (IPA /kənˈdoʊn/), averb. Corpus frequency is #23,215 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for condone, with forms such as "ccondone", "cnodone", and "codnone". 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 12 confusable-pair relationships, "cordon", "Condos", "condor", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Latin condōnāre (“to forgive”). The correct English form is condone, spelled C-O-N-D-O-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To forgive, excuse or overlook (something that is considered morally wrong, offensive, or generally disliked).
  2. 2
    To allow, accept or permit (something that is considered morally wrong, offensive, or generally disliked).
  3. 3
    To forgive (marital infidelity or other marital offense).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. ‘Then the father has a great fight with his terrible conscience,’ said Munday with granite seriousness. ‘Should he make a row with the police[…]? Or should he say nothing about it and condone brutality for fear of appearing in the newspapers?
  2. Rule-utilitarianism is unlikely to condone torturing a child, but it does imply that the torturing of a child is less evil if the torturer shares his pleasure with other sadists-perhaps by inviting an audience, or broadcasting it on the Internet.

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin condōnāre (“to forgive”).

Synonyms

excuseforgiveoverlooktolerate

This word in other languages

condonar(Español)pardonner(Français)nachsehen(Deutsch)perdoar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccondone
  • cnodone
  • codnone
  • conddone
  • condnoe
  • condoen
  • condonne
  • conndone
  • conodne
  • ocndone

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of condone - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ccondone1cnodone2codnone2conddone1condnoe2condoen2condonne1conndone1
Edit distance from "condone"

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 "condone"?
"condone" is spelled C-O-N-D-O-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /kənˈdoʊn/.
What does "condone" mean?
As a verb, "condone" means: To forgive, excuse or overlook (something that is considered morally wrong, offensive, or generally disliked).
What words are commonly confused with "condone"?
"condone" is commonly confused with "cordon", "Condos", "condor". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "condone"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "condone" is /kənˈdoʊn/. 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 "condone"?
Learned borrowing from Latin condōnāre (“to forgive”). 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 "condone", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

conveys#23,222climber#23,206circled#23,203custard#23,228

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

childs10 variantscanteen10 variantsCallahan10 variantsDmitry10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list