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contingent

con·tin·gent/kənˈtɪn.d͡ʒənt/noun, adjective

contingent is spelled C-O-N-T-I-N-G-E-N-T, 3 syllables: con·tin·gent. The wrong spelling people search most is contigent: about 490 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 15 of all searches for the word. Contingent is a noun meaning “An event which may or may not happen; that which is unforeseen, undetermined, or dependent on something in…”. The plural of contingent is contingents.

How many letters and syllables are in contingent?

Letters10: C-O-N-T-I-N-G-E-N-T
Syllables3: con·tin·gent
In writing4.9 times per million words; the 11,373rd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searched1; the most searched, contigent, about 490 Bing searches a month (all of them)

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).

How do you spell contingent?

Contingent is spelled C-O-N-T-I-N-G-E-N-T. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 15 of the searches for contingent in either form.

contingentthe right spelling6,720 searches a month
contigenta missing n490 searches a month

Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.

How common is contingent?

Contingent appears 4.9 times per million words in written English, the 11,373rd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce contingent?

  • /kənˈtɪn.d͡ʒənt/

Contingent has 3 syllables, split con·tin·gent in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-contingent.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-contingent.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of contingent

  • contingents plural
  • more contingent comparative
  • most contingent superlative

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does contingent mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    An event which may or may not happen; that which is unforeseen, undetermined, or dependent on something in the future.

  2. 2

    That which falls to one in a division or apportionment among a number; a suitable share.

  3. 3

    A quota of troops.

adjective

  1. 1

    Possible or liable, but not certain, to occur.

  2. 2

    Dependent on something that is undetermined or unknown, that may or may not occur.

    The success of his undertaking is contingent upon events which he cannot control.

  3. 3

    Not logically necessarily true or false.

  4. 4

    Temporary.

    contingent labor

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Contingent in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
GermanAnteil, Kontingent (that which falls to one in a division or…), Truppenkontingent (a quota of troops), möglich, kontingent, eventuell (possible, liable, incidental, casual)
Portuguesecontingência (that which falls to one in a division or…), contingente (possible, liable, incidental, casual)
Spanishcontingente (that which falls to one in a division or…), supeditado a (dependent on something unknown, that may or may…)
Frenchcontingent, éventuel, hypothétique (possible, liable, incidental, casual)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does contingent come from?

From Middle English, from Old French contingent (whence con- and -ent), from Medieval Latin contingens (“possible, contingent”), present participle of contingere (“to touch, meet, attain to, happen”), from com- (“together”) + tangere (“to touch”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after contingent