contingent
/kənˈtɪn.d͡ʒənt/
"contingent" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“contingent” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #11,360 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #11,360
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 16
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An event which may or may not happen; that which is unforeseen, undetermined, or dependent on something in the future.
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 | contingent |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /kənˈtɪn.d͡ʒənt/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #11,360 |
| Misspellings tracked | 16 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “contingent” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for contingent is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kənˈtɪn.d͡ʒənt/. Corpus data places it at rank #11,360 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for contingent, with forms such as "ccontingent", "cnotingent", and "conitngent". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "continent", "containment", "contingency", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English, from Old French contingent, from Medieval Latin contingens (“possible, contingent”), present participle of contingere (“to touch, meet, attain to, happen”), from com- (“together”) + tangere (“to touch”). The correct English form is contingent, spelled C-O-N-T-I-N-G-E-N-T.
Definition
- 1An event which may or may not happen; that which is unforeseen, undetermined, or dependent on something in the future.
- 2That which falls to one in a division or apportionment among a number; a suitable share.
- 3A quota of troops.
Etymology
From Middle English, from Old French contingent, from Medieval Latin contingens (“possible, contingent”), present participle of contingere (“to touch, meet, attain to, happen”), from com- (“together”) + tangere (“to touch”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccontingent,cnotingent,conitngent,conntingent,contignent,continegnt,contingennt,contingentt,contingetn,continggent,contingnet,continngent,contnigent,conttingent,cotningent,ocntingent
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of contingent - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "contingent"?
What does "contingent" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "contingent"?
How do you pronounce "contingent"?
What is the origin of the word "contingent"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “contingent”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-N-T-I-N-G-E-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /kənˈtɪn.d͡ʒənt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “continent” - see the side-by-side comparison. contingent vs continent
- 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.