emotion

/ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/

//ɪˈməʊ.ʃən// noun

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

"emotion" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“emotion” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,215. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,215
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Movement; agitation.

Corpus desk

Index EN-emotion · emotion · English

emotion · rank #5,215 · 10 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,215
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH emerging

Nearest frequency peer: emerging (-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 “emotion”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “emotion” 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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

emotion vs erosion
71% similar
emotion vs emotive
71% similar
emotion vs emotions
88% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for emotion
PropertyValue
Headwordemotion
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/
Letters7
Frequency rank#5,215
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “emotion”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).emotionlands 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 “emerging” (#5,214), “emphasis” (#5,216), “electronics” (#5,213). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “emotion” is #5,215. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around emotion (IPA /ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,215 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for emotion, with forms such as "emmotion", "emoiton", and "emosion". 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 6 confusable-pair relationships, "erosion", "emotive", "emotions", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French emotion (modern French émotion), from émouvoir (“excite”), based on Latin ēmōtus, past participle of ēmoveō (“to move out, move away, remove, stir up, irritate”), from ē- (“out”) (variant of ex-), and moveō (“move”). The correct English form is emotion, spelled E-M-O-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Movement; agitation.
  2. 2
    A person's internal state of being and involuntary physiological response to an object or a situation, based on or tied to physical state and sensory data.
  3. 3
    A reaction by a non-human organism with behavioral and physiological elements similar to a person's response.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. and the water continuing in the caverns[…]caused the emotion or earthquake
  2. He was thinking; but the glory of the song, the swell from the great organ, the clustered lights, […], the height and vastness of this noble fane, its antiquity and its strength—all these things seemed to have their part as causes of the thrilling emotion that accompanied his thoughts.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French emotion (modern French émotion), from émouvoir (“excite”), based on Latin ēmōtus, past participle of ēmoveō (“to move out, move away, remove, stir up, irritate”), from ē- (“out”) (variant of ex-), and moveō (“move”).

Synonyms

feelingaffectemotionkibunsensationsentimentsennimenttouch

This word in other languages

afecto(Español)émotion(Français)Gefühl(Deutsch)emoção(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • emmotion
  • emoiton
  • emosion
  • emotino
  • emotionn
  • emotoin
  • emottion
  • emtoion
  • eomtion
  • meotion

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of emotion - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

emmotion1emoiton2emosion1emotino2emotionn1emotoin2emottion1emtoion2
Edit distance from "emotion"

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 "emotion"?
"emotion" is spelled E-M-O-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/.
What does "emotion" mean?
As a noun, "emotion" means: Movement; agitation.
What words are commonly confused with "emotion"?
"emotion" is commonly confused with "erosion", "emotive", "emotions". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "emotion"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "emotion" is /ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/. 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 "emotion"?
Borrowed from Middle French emotion (modern French émotion), from émouvoir (“excite”), based on Latin ēmōtus, past participle of ēmoveō (“to move out, move away, remove, stir up, irritate”), from ē- (“out”) (variant of ex-), and moveō (“move”). 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 "emotion", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

distant#5,212destiny#5,211filling#5,221customs#5,208

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

fights10 variantscolored10 variantscoastal10 variantsJennifer10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list