excellence

/ˈɛksələns/

//ˈɛksələns// noun

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

"excellence" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“excellence” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,356. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,356
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The quality of being excellent; brilliance

Corpus desk

Index EN-excellence · excellence · English

excellence · rank #6,356 · 14 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,356
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH ethical

Nearest frequency peer: ethical (-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 “excellence”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “excellence” 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).

excellence vs excellent
80% similar
excellence vs excellency
90% similar

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

Key facts for excellence
PropertyValue
Headwordexcellence
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɛksələns/
Letters10
Frequency rank#6,356
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “excellence”

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).excellencelands 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 “ethical” (#6,355), “flame” (#6,357), “forests” (#6,358). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “excellence” is #6,356. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around excellence (IPA /ˈɛksələns/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #6,356 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for excellence, with forms such as "ecxellence", "exccellence", and "excelelnce". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "excellent", "excellency", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English excellence, from Old French excellence, from Latin excellentia. The correct English form is excellence, spelled E-X-C-E-L-L-E-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The quality of being excellent; brilliance
  2. 2
    Something in which one excels.
  3. 3
    An excellent or valuable quality; something at which any someone excels; a virtue.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. John Davies was awarded for excellence in the field of computer security.

Etymology

From Middle English excellence, from Old French excellence, from Latin excellentia.

Synonyms

superioritypre-eminenceperfectionworthgoodnesspuritygreatness

This word in other languages

excelencia(Español)excellence(Français)Vortrefflichkeit(Deutsch)excelência(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ecxellence
  • exccellence
  • excelelnce
  • excelence
  • excellance
  • excellecne
  • excellencce
  • excellenec
  • excellennce
  • excellnece
  • exclelence
  • execllence
  • exxcellence
  • xecellence

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ecxellence2exccellence1excelelnce2excelence1excellance1excellecne2excellencce1excellenec2
Edit distance from "excellence"

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 "excellence"?
"excellence" is spelled E-X-C-E-L-L-E-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɛksələns/.
What does "excellence" mean?
As a noun, "excellence" means: The quality of being excellent; brilliance
What words are commonly confused with "excellence"?
"excellence" is commonly confused with "excellent", "excellency". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "excellence"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "excellence" is /ˈɛksələns/. 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 "excellence"?
From Middle English excellence, from Old French excellence, from Latin excellentia. 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 "excellence", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

graduation#6,362conducting#6,346capability#6,340motorcycle#6,382

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

continent14 variantscomputing14 variantsmiserable14 variantsnationwide14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list