documentary

/ˌdɒk.jʊˈmɛn.tɹi/

//ˌdɒk.jʊˈmɛn.tɹi// adj

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

"documentary" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“documentary” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,229. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,229
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
17
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of, related to, or based on documents.

Corpus desk

Index EN-documentary · documentary · English

documentary · rank #4,229 · 17 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,229
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH districts

Nearest frequency peer: districts (-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 “documentary”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “documentary” 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
Key facts for documentary
PropertyValue
Headworddocumentary
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌdɒk.jʊˈmɛn.tɹi/
Letters11
Frequency rank#4,229
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “documentary”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).documentarylands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “districts” (#4,228), “domain” (#4,230), “distributed” (#4,227). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “documentary” is #4,229. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around documentary (IPA /ˌdɒk.jʊˈmɛn.tɹi/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #4,229 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

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

  1. 1
    Of, related to, or based on documents.
  2. 2
    Which serves to document (record or illustrate) a subject.
  3. 3
    Presented objectively without the insertion of fictional matter.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. a documentary film
  2. Just as there is a tradition of history painting, so there is one of history photographs — which of course are not documentary. They're posed as the world was supposed to be.

Etymology

From French adjective and (hence) noun documentaire, from document, from Latin documentum. Equivalent to document + -ary.

This word in other languages

documental(Español)documentaire(Français)documental(Português)

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.

dcoumentary2ddocumentary1doccumentary1docmuentary2docuemntary2documenatry2documenntary1documentarry1
Edit distance from "documentary"

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"?
"documentary" is spelled D-O-C-U-M-E-N-T-A-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌdɒk.jʊˈmɛn.tɹi/.
What does "documentary" mean?
As an adjective, "documentary" means: Of, related to, or based on documents.
What are common misspellings of "documentary"?
Common misspellings include "dcoumentary", "ddocumentary", "doccumentary", "docmuentary", "docuemntary". The correct spelling is "documentary".
How do you pronounce "documentary"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "documentary" is /ˌdɒk.jʊˈmɛn.tɹi/. 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 "documentary"?
From French adjective and (hence) noun documentaire, from document, from Latin documentum. Equivalent to document + -ary. 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 "documentary", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

distributed#4,227investigate#4,243underground#4,200preparation#4,181

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

Massachusetts17 variantspsychology17 variantsinvolvement17 variantssubstantial17 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list