contingent

/kənˈtɪn.d͡ʒənt/

//kənˈtɪn.d͡ʒənt// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"contingent" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“contingent” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,360. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,360
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An event which may or may not happen; that which is unforeseen, undetermined, or dependent on something in the future.

Corpus desk

Index EN-contingent · contingent · English

contingent · rank #11,360 · 16 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,360
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH constituency

Nearest frequency peer: constituency (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “contingent”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “contingent” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

contingent vs continent
90% similar
contingent vs containment
82% similar
contingent vs contingency
82% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for contingent
PropertyValue
Headwordcontingent
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kənˈtɪn.d͡ʒənt/
Letters10
Frequency rank#11,360
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “contingent”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).contingentlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “constituency” (#11,359), “Cornell” (#11,361), “coated” (#11,358). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “contingent” is #11,360. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around contingent (IPA /kənˈtɪn.d͡ʒənt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #11,360 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

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

  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.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how contingent appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Arrests and prosecutions intensified after Isis captured Mosul in June, but the groundwork had been laid by an earlier amendment to Jordan’s anti-terrorism law. It is estimated that 2,000 Jordanians have fought and 250 of them have died in Syria – making them the third largest Arab contingent in Isis after Saudi Arabians and Tunisians.

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

contingente(Español)Anteil(Deutsch)contingência(Português)

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.

ccontingent1cnotingent2conitngent2conntingent1contignent2continegnt2contingennt1contingentt1
Edit distance from "contingent"

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"?
"contingent" is spelled C-O-N-T-I-N-G-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /kənˈtɪn.d͡ʒənt/.
What does "contingent" mean?
As a noun, "contingent" means: An event which may or may not happen; that which is unforeseen, undetermined, or dependent on something in the future.
What words are commonly confused with "contingent"?
"contingent" is commonly confused with "continent", "containment", "contingency". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "contingent"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "contingent" is /kənˈtɪn.d͡ʒənt/. 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 "contingent"?
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”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "contingent", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

councillor#11,364allegiance#11,336footballer#11,386hemisphere#11,392

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

songwriter16 variantsscheduling16 variantsPetersburg16 variantsindictment16 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list