extrinsic
/ɛksˈtɹɪn.zɪk/
"extrinsic" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“extrinsic” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #45,916. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #45,916
- frequency rank, English
- 18,836
- “E” headwords
- 14
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - External; separable from the thing itself; inessential.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | extrinsic |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɛksˈtɹɪn.zɪk/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #45,916 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “extrinsic” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 14 spelling variants around extrinsic (IPA /ɛksˈtɹɪn.zɪk/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #45,916 among 18,836 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for extrinsic, with forms such as "etxrinsic", "exrtinsic", and "extirnsic". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French extrinsèque, from Latin extrinsecus (“from without, without, on the outside”), from *extrim, an assumed adverbial form of exter (“outer, outward”) + secus (“by, on the side”). The correct English form is extrinsic, spelled E-X-T-R-I-N-S-I-C.
Definition
- 1External; separable from the thing itself; inessential.
- 2Not belonging to something; outside.
Etymology
From French extrinsèque, from Latin extrinsecus (“from without, without, on the outside”), from *extrim, an assumed adverbial form of exter (“outer, outward”) + secus (“by, on the side”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- etxrinsic
- exrtinsic
- extirnsic
- extrinisc
- extrinnsic
- extrinsci
- extrinsicc
- extrinssic
- extrisnic
- extrnisic
- extrrinsic
- exttrinsic
- exxtrinsic
- xetrinsic
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of extrinsic - 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
How do you spell "extrinsic"?
What does "extrinsic" mean?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “extrinsic”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-X-T-R-I-N-S-I-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɛksˈtɹɪn.zɪk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Same frequency band
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.