disturbance
/dɪˈstɜː.bəns/
"disturbance" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“disturbance” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #12,758 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #12,758
- frequency rank, English
- 11
- letters
- 18
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The act of disturbing, being disturbed.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | disturbance |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /dɪˈstɜː.bəns/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #12,758 |
| Misspellings tracked | 18 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “disturbance” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for disturbance is 11 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dɪˈstɜː.bəns/. Corpus data places it at rank #12,758 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 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 disturbance, with forms such as "ddisturbance", "dissturbance", and "distrubance". 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. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English disturbaunce, from Old French destorbance, destourbance, from destourber (“disturb”), from Latin disturbō. By surface analysis, disturb + -ance. The correct English form is disturbance, spelled D-I-S-T-U-R-B-A-N-C-E.
Definition
- 1The act of disturbing, being disturbed.
- 2Something that disturbs.
- 3A noisy commotion that causes a hubbub or interruption.
- 4An interruption of that which is normal or regular.
- 5A serious mental imbalance or illness.
Etymology
From Middle English disturbaunce, from Old French destorbance, destourbance, from destourber (“disturb”), from Latin disturbō. By surface analysis, disturb + -ance.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddisturbance,dissturbance,distrubance,distturbance,distubrance,disturabnce,disturbacne,disturbancce,disturbanec,disturbannce,disturbbance,disturbence,disturbnace,disturrbance,disutrbance,ditsurbance,dsiturbance,idsturbance
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of disturbance - 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.
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 "disturbance"?
What does "disturbance" mean?
What are common misspellings of "disturbance"?
How do you pronounce "disturbance"?
What is the origin of the word "disturbance"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “disturbance”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-I-S-T-U-R-B-A-N-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /dɪˈstɜː.bəns/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.