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configuration

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

13 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "configuration", 13-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "configuration" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "configuration" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

configuration is aEnglishnoun. It means: The form of a thing, as depending on the relative placement of the parts of a thing's shape. Pronounced /kənˌfɪɡ.əˈɹeɪ̯.ʃən/. It ranks #7,435 in English word frequency.

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Key facts for configuration
PropertyValue
Headwordconfiguration
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kənˌfɪɡ.əˈɹeɪ̯.ʃən/
Letters13
Frequency rank#7,435
Misspellings tracked20
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of configuration in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for configuration is 13 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kənˌfɪɡ.əˈɹeɪ̯.ʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,435 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 20 documented wrong-spelling variants for configuration, with forms such as "cconfiguration", "cnofiguration", and "cofniguration". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.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 Middle French configuration, from Latin cōnfigūrātiō. Morphologically configure + -ation. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is configuration, spelled C-O-N-F-I-G-U-R-A-T-I-O-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    The form of a thing, as depending on the relative placement of the parts of a thing's shape.
  2. 2
    The relative positions of a set of things; the way things are arranged or put together;
  3. 3
    The relative positions of a set of things; the way things are arranged or put together;
  4. 4
    The arrangement of electrons in an atom, molecule, or other physical structure like a crystal.
  5. 5
    A finite set of points and lines (and sometimes planes), generally with equal numbers of points per line and equal numbers of lines per point.
  6. 6
    The way a computing environment (physical or software) is set up or customized to the needs of its users.
  7. 7
    The process of customizing a computing environment in this way.

Etymology

From Middle French configuration, from Latin cōnfigūrātiō. Morphologically configure + -ation.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: cconfiguration,cnofiguration,cofniguration,conffiguration,confgiuration,configguration,configruation,configuartion,configuraiton,configurasion,configuratino,configurationn,configuratoin,configurattion,configurration,configurtaion,confiugration,conifguration,connfiguration,ocnfiguration

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for configuration

Misspelling Variants of "configuration"

cconfiguration14cnofiguration13cofniguration13conffiguration14confgiuration13configguration14configruation13configuartion13
Misspelling Variants of "configuration"

Frequency rank: #7,435 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "configuration"?
"configuration" is spelled C-O-N-F-I-G-U-R-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /kənˌfɪɡ.əˈɹeɪ̯.ʃən/.
What does "configuration" mean?
As a noun, "configuration" means: The form of a thing, as depending on the relative placement of the parts of a thing's shape.
What are common misspellings of "configuration"?
Common misspellings include "cconfiguration", "cnofiguration", "cofniguration", "conffiguration", "confgiuration". The correct spelling is "configuration".
How do you pronounce "configuration"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "configuration" is /kənˌfɪɡ.əˈɹeɪ̯.ʃən/. 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 "configuration"?
From Middle French configuration, from Latin cōnfigūrātiō. Morphologically configure + -ation. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter C in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.