contemplation
/ˌkɒntəmˈpleɪʃən/
"contemplation" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“contemplation” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #23,788 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #23,788
- frequency rank, English
- 13
- letters
- 21
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The act of contemplating; musing; being highly concentrated in thought
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 | contemplation |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌkɒntəmˈpleɪʃən/ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Frequency rank | #23,788 |
| Misspellings tracked | 21 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “contemplation” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for contemplation is 13 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌkɒntəmˈpleɪʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #23,788 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 21 likely wrong-spelling variants for contemplation, with forms such as "ccontemplation", "cnotemplation", and "conetmplation". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "contemplative", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English contemplacioun, from Old French contemplation, from Latin contemplatio. The correct English form is contemplation, spelled C-O-N-T-E-M-P-L-A-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1The act of contemplating; musing; being highly concentrated in thought
- 2Holy meditation.
- 3The act of looking forward to a future event
- 4The state of being considered or planned.
Etymology
From Middle English contemplacioun, from Old French contemplation, from Latin contemplatio.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccontemplation,cnotemplation,conetmplation,conntemplation,contemlpation,contemmplation,contempaltion,contemplaiton,contemplasion,contemplatino,contemplationn,contemplatoin,contemplattion,contempllation,contempltaion,contempplation,contepmlation,contmeplation,conttemplation,cotnemplation,ocntemplation
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of contemplation - 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 "contemplation"?
What does "contemplation" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "contemplation"?
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Using “contemplation”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-N-T-E-M-P-L-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌkɒntəmˈpleɪʃən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “contemplative” - see the side-by-side comparison. contemplation vs contemplative
- 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.