explosion
/ɪkˈspləʊ.ʒən/
"explosion" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“explosion” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,944. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #4,944
- frequency rank, English
- 2,246
- “E” headwords
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A violent release of energy (sometimes mechanical, nuclear, or chemical); an act or instance of exploding.
Corpus desk
Index EN-explosion · explosion · English
explosion · rank #4,944 · 14 variants · 4 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #4,944
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
- VAR-HIGH 14 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,246
- PHOTO-FINISH Evans
Nearest frequency peer: Evans (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “explosion”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- employer
employer
95,059 corpus weight
- Evans
Evans
95,058 corpus weight
- explosion
explosion
95,057 corpus weight
- fever
fever
95,056 corpus weight
- fluid
fluid
95,055 corpus weight
- folk
folk
95,054 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “explosion” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | explosion |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɪkˈspləʊ.ʒən/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #4,944 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “explosion” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 14 spelling variants around explosion (IPA /ɪkˈspləʊ.ʒən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,944 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 explosion, with forms such as "epxlosion", "exlposion", and "expllosion". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "explosive", "expulsion", "expansion", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French explosion, from Latin explōsiōnis, genitive form of explōsio, from explōdo (“to drive out by clapping”), from ex- and plōdo (“to clap or strike”). For more information see explode. The correct English form is explosion, spelled E-X-P-L-O-S-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1A violent release of energy (sometimes mechanical, nuclear, or chemical); an act or instance of exploding.
- 2The sound of an explosion.
- 3A sudden, uncontrolled or rapid increase, expansion, or bursting out.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how explosion appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
A man was injured by an explosion caused by drilling into a missed shot at the Mendota mine above Silver Plume, Colo.
As with the Lejeuneaceae, this pattern of massive speciation appears to be correlated with the Cretaceous explosion of the angiosperms and the simultaneous creation of a host of new microenvironments, differing in humidity, light intensity, texture, etc.
Etymology
From French explosion, from Latin explōsiōnis, genitive form of explōsio, from explōdo (“to drive out by clapping”), from ex- and plōdo (“to clap or strike”). For more information see explode.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- epxlosion
- exlposion
- expllosion
- exploison
- explosino
- explosionn
- explosoin
- explossion
- explotion
- explsoion
- expolsion
- expplosion
- exxplosion
- xeplosion
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of explosion - 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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "explosion", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "explosion". Here's where to go from here.
- "explosion" maps to 4 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "explosive". View pair
- 14 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #4,944 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "E" letter cohort. E–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.