faltering

adj

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

The verdict

“faltering” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #41,119. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#41,119
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - hesitant, halting

Corpus desk

Index EN-faltering · faltering · English

faltering · rank #41,119 · 12 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #41,119
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH faeces

Nearest frequency peer: faeces (-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 “faltering”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “faltering” 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).

faltering vs filtering
89% similar
faltering vs fastening
78% similar
faltering vs fattening
78% similar

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

Key facts for faltering
PropertyValue
Headwordfaltering
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters9
Frequency rank#41,119
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “faltering”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).falteringlands 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 “faeces” (#41,118), “evens” (#41,116), “fiver” (#41,124). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “faltering” is #41,119. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around faltering, anadjective. Corpus frequency is #41,119 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Dominant gloss: "hesitant, halting".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for faltering, with forms such as "afltering", "faletring", and "falltering". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "filtering", "fastening", "fattening", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From falter + -ing. The correct English form is faltering, spelled F-A-L-T-E-R-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    hesitant, halting

Etymology

From falter + -ing.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • afltering
  • faletring
  • falltering
  • falteirng
  • falterign
  • falteringg
  • falterinng
  • falternig
  • falterring
  • faltreing
  • fatlering
  • ffaltering

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of faltering - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

afltering2faletring2falltering1falteirng2falterign2falteringg1falterinng1falternig2
Edit distance from "faltering"

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 "faltering"?
"faltering" is spelled F-A-L-T-E-R-I-N-G.
What does "faltering" mean?
As an adjective, "faltering" means: hesitant, halting
What words are commonly confused with "faltering"?
"faltering" is commonly confused with "filtering", "fastening", "fattening". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "faltering"?
From falter + -ing. 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 "faltering", 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 (12 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list