dilation
/daɪˈleɪʃən/
"dilation" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dilation” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #33,615. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #33,615
- frequency rank, English
- 3,470
- “D” headwords
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of dilating.
Corpus desk
Index EN-dilation · dilation · English
dilation · rank #33,615 · 12 variants · 7 confusables
- FREQ-MID #33,615
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
- VAR-MID 12 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,470
- PHOTO-FINISH devs
Nearest frequency peer: devs (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “dilation”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- depositing
depositing
66,390 corpus weight
- Dermot
Dermot
66,389 corpus weight
- devs
devs
66,387 corpus weight
- dilation
dilation
66,386 corpus weight
- directorial
directorial
66,384 corpus weight
- dishonor
dishonor
66,383 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “dilation” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | dilation |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /daɪˈleɪʃən/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #33,615 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “dilation” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 12 spelling variants around dilation (IPA /daɪˈleɪʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #33,615 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for dilation, with forms such as "ddilation", "dialtion", and "dilaiton". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "duration", "donation", "dilution", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From dilate + -ion, late 16th c. The correct English form is dilation, spelled D-I-L-A-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1The act of dilating.
- 2State of being dilated; expansion; dilatation.
- 3Delay.
- 4In morphology, a basic operation (denoted ⊕) that usually uses a structuring element for probing and expanding the shapes contained in the input image.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how dilation appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The wise queen, however she might seem to have a fair opportunity offered to her suit, finds it not good to apprehend it too suddenly; as desiring by this small dilation to prepare the ear and heart of the king for so important a request
Etymology
From dilate + -ion, late 16th c.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ddilation
- dialtion
- dilaiton
- dilasion
- dilatino
- dilationn
- dilatoin
- dilattion
- dillation
- diltaion
- dliation
- idlation
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of dilation - 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 "dilation"?
What does "dilation" mean?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "dilation", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "dilation". Here's where to go from here.
- "dilation" maps to 7 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "duration". View pair
- 12 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #33,615 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "D" letter cohort. D–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.