documentary
/ˌdɒk.jʊˈmɛn.tɹi/
"documentary" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“documentary” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,229 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #4,229
- frequency rank, English
- 11
- letters
- 17
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of, related to, or based on documents.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | documentary |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌdɒk.jʊˈmɛn.tɹi/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #4,229 |
| Misspellings tracked | 17 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “documentary” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for documentary is 11 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌdɒk.jʊˈmɛn.tɹi/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,229 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for documentary, with forms such as "dcoumentary", "ddocumentary", and "doccumentary". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French adjective and (hence) noun documentaire, from document, from Latin documentum. Equivalent to document + -ary. The correct English form is documentary, spelled D-O-C-U-M-E-N-T-A-R-Y.
Definition
- 1Of, related to, or based on documents.
- 2Which serves to document (record or illustrate) a subject.
- 3Presented objectively without the insertion of fictional matter.
Etymology
From French adjective and (hence) noun documentaire, from document, from Latin documentum. Equivalent to document + -ary.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: dcoumentary,ddocumentary,doccumentary,docmuentary,docuemntary,documenatry,documenntary,documentarry,documentaryy,documentayr,documentray,documenttary,documetnary,docummentary,documnetary,doucmentary,odcumentary
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of documentary - 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 "documentary"?
What does "documentary" mean?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “documentary”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-O-C-U-M-E-N-T-A-R-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌdɒk.jʊˈmɛn.tɹi/ (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.