existence
/ɛɡˈzɪs.təns/
"existence" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“existence” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,732 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #2,732
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The state of being, existing, or occurring; beinghood.
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 | existence |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɛɡˈzɪs.təns/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #2,732 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “existence” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for existence is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɛɡˈzɪs.təns/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,732 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. 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 existence, with forms such as "eixstence", "exisetnce", and "exisstence". 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, "existent", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English existence, from Old French existence, from Late Latin existentia (“existence”), from existēns, from existō, exsistō (“I am, I exist”), from ex (“out”) + sistere (“to set, place”) (related to stare (“to stand, to be stood”)), ultimately f… The correct English form is existence, spelled E-X-I-S-T-E-N-C-E.
Definition
- 1The state of being, existing, or occurring; beinghood.
- 2Empirical reality; the substance of the physical universe. (Dictionary of Philosophy; 1968)
Etymology
From Middle English existence, from Old French existence, from Late Latin existentia (“existence”), from existēns, from existō, exsistō (“I am, I exist”), from ex (“out”) + sistere (“to set, place”) (related to stare (“to stand, to be stood”)), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *stísteh₂ti, from the root *steh₂- (“stand”). Cognate with Spanish existencia, French existence, German Existenz. Morphologically exist + -ence.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: eixstence,exisetnce,exisstence,existance,existecne,existencce,existenec,existennce,existnece,existtence,exitsence,exsitence,exxistence,xeistence
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of existence - 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
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Using “existence”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-X-I-S-T-E-N-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɛɡˈzɪs.təns/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “existent” - see the side-by-side comparison. existence vs existent
- 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.