downturn
/ˈdaʊntɜːn/
"downturn" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“downturn” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #22,651. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #22,651
- frequency rank, English
- 3,470
- “D” headwords
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - A downward trend, or the beginnings of one.
Corpus desk
Index EN-downturn · downturn · English
downturn · rank #22,651 · 13 variants · 1 confusable
- FREQ-MID #22,651
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
- VAR-HIGH 13 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,470
- PHOTO-FINISH drier
Nearest frequency peer: drier (+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 “downturn”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- disclosing
disclosing
77,353 corpus weight
- downturn
downturn
77,350 corpus weight
- drier
drier
77,349 corpus weight
- Duane
Duane
77,348 corpus weight
- dystopian
dystopian
77,347 corpus weight
- electrically
electrically
77,345 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “downturn” 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 | downturn |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈdaʊntɜːn/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #22,651 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “downturn” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 13 spelling variants around downturn (IPA /ˈdaʊntɜːn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #22,651 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A downward trend, or the beginnings of one.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for downturn, with forms such as "ddownturn", "donwturn", and "downnturn". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "downtown", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From down- + turn. The correct English form is downturn, spelled D-O-W-N-T-U-R-N.
Definition
- 1A downward trend, or the beginnings of one.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how downturn appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Near-synonym: decline
The downturn in the economy made it harder to find jobs.
Etymology
From down- + turn.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ddownturn
- donwturn
- downnturn
- downtrun
- downtturn
- downtunr
- downturnn
- downturrn
- downutrn
- dowtnurn
- dowwnturn
- dwonturn
- odwnturn
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of downturn - 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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "downturn"?
What does "downturn" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "downturn"?
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What is the origin of the word "downturn"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "downturn", 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 (13 here; floor ≥5).
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.