extermination

noun

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

"extermination" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“extermination” has 20 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #24,441. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#24,441
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
20
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of exterminating; total destruction or eradication.

Corpus desk

Index EN-extermination · extermination · English

extermination · rank #24,441 · 20 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #24,441
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 20 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH eyre

Nearest frequency peer: eyre (+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 “extermination”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “extermination” 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).

extermination vs exterminator
85% similar

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

Key facts for extermination
PropertyValue
Headwordextermination
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters13
Frequency rank#24,441
Misspellings tracked20
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “extermination”

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).exterminationlands 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 “eyre” (#24,442), “etching” (#24,438), “fancied” (#24,444). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “extermination” is #24,441. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 20 spelling variants around extermination, anoun. Corpus frequency is #24,441 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 20 likely wrong-spelling variants for extermination, with forms such as "etxermination", "exetrmination", and "extemrination". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "exterminator", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French extermination, itself a learned borrowing from Ecclesiastical Latin exterminātiō. The correct English form is extermination, spelled E-X-T-E-R-M-I-N-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of exterminating; total destruction or eradication.
  2. 2
    Elimination.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. extermination of error or vice
  2. extermination of weeds from a field

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French extermination, itself a learned borrowing from Ecclesiastical Latin exterminātiō.

Synonyms

excision

This word in other languages

extermination(Français)Ausrottung(Deutsch)extermínio(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • etxermination
  • exetrmination
  • extemrination
  • exterimnation
  • extermiantion
  • exterminaiton
  • exterminasion
  • exterminatino
  • exterminationn
  • exterminatoin
  • exterminattion
  • exterminnation
  • extermintaion
  • extermmination
  • extermniation
  • exterrmination
  • extremination
  • exttermination
  • exxtermination
  • xetermination

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

etxermination2exetrmination2extemrination2exterimnation2extermiantion2exterminaiton2exterminasion1exterminatino2
Edit distance from "extermination"

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 "extermination"?
"extermination" is spelled E-X-T-E-R-M-I-N-A-T-I-O-N.
What does "extermination" mean?
As a noun, "extermination" means: The act of exterminating; total destruction or eradication.
What words are commonly confused with "extermination"?
"extermination" is commonly confused with "exterminator". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "extermination"?
Borrowed from Middle French extermination, itself a learned borrowing from Ecclesiastical Latin exterminātiō. 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 "extermination", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

choreographer#24,407superstitious#24,332schizophrenic#24,582observational#24,258

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (20 here; floor ≥5).

amplification20 variantshorticultural20 variantsdemocratically20 variantsunsustainable20 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list