controlling

/kənˈtɹoʊlɪŋ/

//kənˈtɹoʊlɪŋ// adj

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

"controlling" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“controlling” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,405. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,405
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
16
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Exerting control over a person or thing.

Corpus desk

Index EN-controlling · controlling · English

controlling · rank #5,405 · 16 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,405
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH contrary

Nearest frequency peer: contrary (-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 “controlling”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “controlling” 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
Key facts for controlling
PropertyValue
Headwordcontrolling
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/kənˈtɹoʊlɪŋ/
Letters11
Frequency rank#5,405
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “controlling”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).controllinglands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “contrary” (#5,404), “corporations” (#5,406), “compliance” (#5,403). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “controlling” is #5,405. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around controlling (IPA /kənˈtɹoʊlɪŋ/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #5,405 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Exerting control over a person or thing.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for controlling, with forms such as "ccontrolling", "cnotrolling", and "conntrolling". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is controlling, spelled C-O-N-T-R-O-L-L-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Exerting control over a person or thing.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. His mother is very controlling.

Synonyms

bossy and manipulative

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccontrolling
  • cnotrolling
  • conntrolling
  • conrtolling
  • contorlling
  • contrloling
  • controlilng
  • controling
  • controllign
  • controllingg
  • controllinng
  • controllnig
  • contrrolling
  • conttrolling
  • cotnrolling
  • ocntrolling

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of controlling - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ccontrolling1cnotrolling2conntrolling1conrtolling2contorlling2contrloling2controlilng2controling1
Edit distance from "controlling"

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 "controlling"?
"controlling" is spelled C-O-N-T-R-O-L-L-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /kənˈtɹoʊlɪŋ/.
What does "controlling" mean?
As an adjective, "controlling" means: Exerting control over a person or thing.
What are common misspellings of "controlling"?
Common misspellings include "ccontrolling", "cnotrolling", "conntrolling", "conrtolling", "contorlling". The correct spelling is "controlling".
How do you pronounce "controlling"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "controlling" is /kənˈtɹoʊlɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "controlling" come from?
"controlling" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "controlling", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

celebrating#5,396approaching#5,387illustrated#5,423unnecessary#5,376

Similar misspelling depth

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

compliance16 variantsstructural16 variantsreflection16 variantsperception16 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list