explained

/ɪkˈspleɪnd/

//ɪkˈspleɪnd// verb

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

"explained" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“explained” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,535. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,535
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - simple past and past participle of explain

Corpus desk

Index EN-explained · explained · English

explained · rank #2,535 · 13 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,535
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH enjoyed

Nearest frequency peer: enjoyed (-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 “explained”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “explained” 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).

explained vs explain
78% similar
explained vs exclaimed
78% similar

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

Key facts for explained
PropertyValue
Headwordexplained
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɪkˈspleɪnd/
Letters9
Frequency rank#2,535
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “explained”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).explainedlands 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 “enjoyed” (#2,534), “faces” (#2,536), “empty” (#2,533). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “explained” is #2,535. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around explained (IPA /ɪkˈspleɪnd/), averb. Corpus frequency is #2,535 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Dominant gloss: "simple past and past participle of explain".

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for explained, with forms such as "epxlained", "exlpained", and "expalined". 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, "explain", "exclaimed", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is explained, spelled E-X-P-L-A-I-N-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of explain

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • epxlained
  • exlpained
  • expalined
  • explaiend
  • explainde
  • explainedd
  • explainned
  • explanied
  • explianed
  • expllained
  • expplained
  • exxplained
  • xeplained

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of explained - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

epxlained2exlpained2expalined2explaiend2explainde2explainedd1explainned1explanied2
Edit distance from "explained"

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 "explained"?
"explained" is spelled E-X-P-L-A-I-N-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪkˈspleɪnd/.
What does "explained" mean?
As a verb, "explained" means: simple past and past participle of explain
What words are commonly confused with "explained"?
"explained" is commonly confused with "explain", "exclaimed". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "explained"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "explained" is /ɪkˈspleɪnd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "explained" come from?
"explained" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "explained", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

boyfriend#2,518receiving#2,552appointed#2,511territory#2,505

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

instance13 variantsconcerns13 variantsdedicated13 variantssentence13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list