failing

/ˈfeɪ.lɪŋ/

//ˈfeɪ.lɪŋ// verb

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

"failing" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“failing” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,301. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,301
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - present participle and gerund of fail

Corpus desk

Index EN-failing · failing · English

failing · rank #4,301 · 10 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,301
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH estimates

Nearest frequency peer: estimates (-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 “failing”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “failing” 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).

failing vs fling
71% similar
failing vs firing
71% similar
failing vs fixing
71% similar

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

Key facts for failing
PropertyValue
Headwordfailing
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈfeɪ.lɪŋ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#4,301
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “failing”

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).failinglands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “estimates” (#4,300), “finishing” (#4,302), “equity” (#4,299). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “failing” is #4,301. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around failing (IPA /ˈfeɪ.lɪŋ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #4,301 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Dominant gloss: "present participle and gerund of fail".

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for failing, with forms such as "afiling", "faiilng", and "failign". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "fling", "firing", "fixing", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is failing, spelled F-A-I-L-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of fail

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. As we breasted the first summit, the precipitous mass of the Raven's Rock, towering some 250 ft. above the railway, looked grim and forbidding in the failing light, and distant Ben Wyves was shrouded in mist.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • afiling
  • faiilng
  • failign
  • failingg
  • failinng
  • failling
  • failnig
  • faliing
  • ffailing
  • fialing

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

afiling2faiilng2failign2failingg1failinng1failling1failnig2faliing2
Edit distance from "failing"

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 "failing"?
"failing" is spelled F-A-I-L-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfeɪ.lɪŋ/.
What does "failing" mean?
As a verb, "failing" means: present participle and gerund of fail
What words are commonly confused with "failing"?
"failing" is commonly confused with "fling", "firing", "fixing". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "failing"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "failing" is /ˈfeɪ.lɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "failing" come from?
"failing" 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 "failing", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

fortune#4,303goodbye#4,305Hillary#4,308Vietnam#4,281

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

partly10 variantssymbol10 variantstouched10 variantswarriors10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list