enlighten
/ɪnˈlaɪtən/
"enlighten" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“enlighten” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #21,787 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #21,787
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To supply with light.
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 | enlighten |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ɪnˈlaɪtən/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #21,787 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “enlighten” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for enlighten is 9 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪnˈlaɪtən/. Corpus data places it at rank #21,787 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for enlighten, with forms such as "elnighten", "enilghten", and "enlgihten". 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, "enlightened", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Formerly also inlighten, from Middle English enlightenen, inlightnen, a hybrid formed from inlighten (“to enlighten, illuminate”), from Old English inlīhtan, onlīhtan, enlīhtan (“to enlighten, illuminate, give light to, give sight to”) and lightnen (“to enl… The correct English form is enlighten, spelled E-N-L-I-G-H-T-E-N.
Definition
- 1To supply with light.
- 2To make something clear to (someone); to give knowledge or understanding to.
Etymology
Formerly also inlighten, from Middle English enlightenen, inlightnen, a hybrid formed from inlighten (“to enlighten, illuminate”), from Old English inlīhtan, onlīhtan, enlīhtan (“to enlighten, illuminate, give light to, give sight to”) and lightnen (“to enlighten, illuminate”) (equivalent to light + -en). Cognate with Dutch inlichten (“to enlighten, inform”), Old High German inliuhten (“to enlighten, illuminate”), Gothic 𐌹𐌽𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌷𐍄𐌾𐌰𐌽 (inliuhtjan, “to enlighten, illuminate”). More at inlight, -en.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: elnighten,enilghten,enlgihten,enligghten,enlighetn,enlighhten,enlightenn,enlightne,enlightten,enligthen,enlihgten,enllighten,ennlighten,nelighten
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of enlighten - 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 "enlighten"?
What does "enlighten" mean?
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Using “enlighten”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-N-L-I-G-H-T-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪnˈlaɪtən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “enlightened” - see the side-by-side comparison. enlighten vs enlightened
- 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.