enhance

/ɪnˈhɑːns/

//ɪnˈhɑːns// verb

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

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

The verdict

“enhance” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,683. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,683
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To lift, raise up.

Corpus desk

Index EN-enhance · enhance · English

enhance · rank #6,683 · 11 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,683
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH emotionally

Nearest frequency peer: emotionally (-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 “enhance”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “enhance” 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).

enhance vs entrance
75% similar
enhance vs enhanced
88% similar
enhance vs enhancer
88% similar

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

Key facts for enhance
PropertyValue
Headwordenhance
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɪnˈhɑːns/
Letters7
Frequency rank#6,683
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “enhance”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).enhancelands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “emotionally” (#6,682), “experiencing” (#6,684), “Edwards” (#6,681). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “enhance” is #6,683. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around enhance (IPA /ɪnˈhɑːns/), averb. Corpus frequency is #6,683 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for enhance, with forms such as "ehnance", "enahnce", and "enhacne". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "entrance", "enhanced", "enhancer", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English enhauncen, anhaunsen, from Anglo-Norman anhauncer (“enhance, raise”), from Vulgar Latin *inaltiāre (“raise”), derived from Latin in + altus (“high”). The /h/ in Old French was taken from haut (“high”), where it resulted from Frankish inf… The correct English form is enhance, spelled E-N-H-A-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To lift, raise up.
  2. 2
    To augment or make something greater.
  3. 3
    To improve something by adding features.
  4. 4
    To be raised up; to grow larger.
  5. 5
    To take up contrast agent (for an organ, tissue, or lesion).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. nought aghast, his mightie hand enhaunst: / The stroke down from her head vnto her shoulder glaunst.
  2. They had no character to preserve, except for courage; and perhaps the reputation of ferocity enhanced the value of their services, in making them feared as well as hated by the people.

Etymology

From Middle English enhauncen, anhaunsen, from Anglo-Norman anhauncer (“enhance, raise”), from Vulgar Latin *inaltiāre (“raise”), derived from Latin in + altus (“high”). The /h/ in Old French was taken from haut (“high”), where it resulted from Frankish influence.

Synonyms

heighten

Antonyms

dehance

This word in other languages

embonar(Español)augmenter(Français)erhöhen(Deutsch)aumentar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ehnance
  • enahnce
  • enhacne
  • enhancce
  • enhanec
  • enhannce
  • enhence
  • enhhance
  • enhnace
  • ennhance
  • nehance

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of enhance - 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.

ehnance2enahnce2enhacne2enhancce1enhanec2enhannce1enhence1enhhance1
Edit distance from "enhance"

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 "enhance"?
"enhance" is spelled E-N-H-A-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪnˈhɑːns/.
What does "enhance" mean?
As a verb, "enhance" means: To lift, raise up.
What words are commonly confused with "enhance"?
"enhance" is commonly confused with "entrance", "enhanced", "enhancer". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "enhance"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "enhance" is /ɪnˈhɑːns/. 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 "enhance"?
From Middle English enhauncen, anhaunsen, from Anglo-Norman anhauncer (“enhance, raise”), from Vulgar Latin *inaltiāre (“raise”), derived from Latin in + altus (“high”). The /h/ in Old French was taken from haut (“high”), where it resulted from Fr... 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 "enhance", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Edwards#6,681editors#6,680Denmark#6,673crashed#6,670

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

likewise11 variantsmeantime11 variantsanyways11 variantspipeline11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list