confederation
/kənfɛdəˈɹeɪʃən/
"confederation" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“confederation” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #15,989 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #15,989
- frequency rank, English
- 13
- letters
- 20
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A union or alliance of states or political organizations.
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 | confederation |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /kənfɛdəˈɹeɪʃən/ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Frequency rank | #15,989 |
| Misspellings tracked | 20 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “confederation” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for confederation is 13 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kənfɛdəˈɹeɪʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #15,989 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 20 likely wrong-spelling variants for confederation, with forms such as "cconfederation", "cnofederation", and "cofnederation". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "consideration", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English confederacion, confideracion and Middle French confédération, from Old French confederacion, from Latin cōnfoederātiō. Doublet of confederacy. The correct English form is confederation, spelled C-O-N-F-E-D-E-R-A-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1A union or alliance of states or political organizations.
- 2The act of forming an alliance.
Etymology
From Middle English confederacion, confideracion and Middle French confédération, from Old French confederacion, from Latin cōnfoederātiō. Doublet of confederacy.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: cconfederation,cnofederation,cofnederation,conefderation,confdeeration,confedderation,confedeartion,confederaiton,confederasion,confederatino,confederationn,confederatoin,confederattion,confederration,confedertaion,confedreation,confeedration,conffederation,connfederation,ocnfederation
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of confederation - 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 "confederation"?
What does "confederation" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "confederation"?
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Using “confederation”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-N-F-E-D-E-R-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /kənfɛdəˈɹeɪʃən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “consideration” - see the side-by-side comparison. confederation vs consideration
- 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.