controversial

/ˌkɒn.tɹəˈvɜː.ʃəl/

//ˌkɒn.tɹəˈvɜː.ʃəl// adj

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

"controversial" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“controversial” has 20 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,842. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,842
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
20
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Arousing or likely to arouse controversy.

Corpus desk

Index EN-controversial · controversial · English

controversial · rank #4,842 · 20 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,842
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 20 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH complaints

Nearest frequency peer: complaints (-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 “controversial”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “controversial” 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).

controversial vs controversies
85% similar
controversial vs controversially
87% similar

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

Key facts for controversial
PropertyValue
Headwordcontroversial
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌkɒn.tɹəˈvɜː.ʃəl/
Letters13
Frequency rank#4,842
Misspellings tracked20
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “controversial”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “complaints” (#4,841), “Denver” (#4,843), “complain” (#4,840). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “controversial” is #4,842. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 20 spelling variants around controversial (IPA /ˌkɒn.tɹəˈvɜː.ʃəl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #4,842 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 20 likely wrong-spelling variants for controversial, with forms such as "ccontroversial", "cnotroversial", and "conntroversial". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "controversies", "controversially", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin contrōversiālis, from contrōversia + -ālis. By surface analysis, controversy + -al. The correct English form is controversial, spelled C-O-N-T-R-O-V-E-R-S-I-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Arousing or likely to arouse controversy.
  2. 2
    Engaging in or given to controversy; disputatious, argumentative.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Whole libraries of controversial books.
  2. MAHER: Well, whatever. I just said we shouldn't have two national anthems. We're one country. It's not a good idea. We've seen what happens in other countries where you have, you know- when you separate things out. That's never where America was. That's never where liberalism was. It was about being a colorblind society. So, a new national anthem? Fine. I…

Etymology

From Latin contrōversiālis, from contrōversia + -ālis. By surface analysis, controversy + -al.

Synonyms

contentiouscontested

Antonyms

incontrovertiblenon-controversialnoncontroversialuncontroversial

This word in other languages

polémico(Español)controversé(Français)umstritten(Deutsch)polémico(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccontroversial
  • cnotroversial
  • conntroversial
  • conrtoversial
  • contorversial
  • controevrsial
  • controverisal
  • controverrsial
  • controversail
  • controversiall
  • controversila
  • controverssial
  • controvesrial
  • controvresial
  • controvversial
  • contrroversial
  • contrvoersial
  • conttroversial
  • cotnroversial
  • ocntroversial

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of controversial - 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.

ccontroversial1cnotroversial2conntroversial1conrtoversial2contorversial2controevrsial2controverisal2controverrsial1
Edit distance from "controversial"

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 "controversial"?
"controversial" is spelled C-O-N-T-R-O-V-E-R-S-I-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌkɒn.tɹəˈvɜː.ʃəl/.
What does "controversial" mean?
As an adjective, "controversial" means: Arousing or likely to arouse controversy.
What words are commonly confused with "controversial"?
"controversial" is commonly confused with "controversies", "controversially". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "controversial"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "controversial" is /ˌkɒn.tɹəˈvɜː.ʃəl/. 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 "controversial"?
From Latin contrōversiālis, from contrōversia + -ālis. By surface analysis, controversy + -al. 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 "controversial", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

professionals#4,789distinguished#5,123psychological#4,549concentration#4,514

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (20 here; floor ≥5).

consistently20 variantsconsideration20 variantsclassification20 variantsparliamentary20 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list