discernment
"discernment" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“discernment” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #37,421 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #37,421
- frequency rank, English
- 11
- letters
- 18
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The ability to distinguish; judgement.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | discernment |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #37,421 |
| Misspellings tracked | 18 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “discernment” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for discernment is 11 letters long, classified as a noun. Corpus data places it at rank #37,421 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 18 likely wrong-spelling variants for discernment, with forms such as "ddiscernment", "dicsernment", and "disccernment". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French discernement, equivalent to discern + -ment. The correct English form is discernment, spelled D-I-S-C-E-R-N-M-E-N-T.
Definition
- 1The ability to distinguish; judgement.
- 2The act of distinguishing between things.
- 3The ability to distinguish between things.
- 4The ability to perceive differences that exist.
- 5The condition of understanding.
- 6Aesthetic discrimination; taste, appreciation.
- 7Perceptiveness.
- 8The ability to make wise judgements; sagacity.
- 9Discretion in judging objectively.
Etymology
From Middle French discernement, equivalent to discern + -ment.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddiscernment,dicsernment,disccernment,discenrment,discermnent,discernemnt,discernmennt,discernmentt,discernmetn,discernmment,discernmnet,discernnment,discerrnment,discrenment,disecrnment,disscernment,dsicernment,idscernment
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of discernment - 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.
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 "discernment"?
What does "discernment" mean?
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Using “discernment”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-I-S-C-E-R-N-M-E-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.