flatten
/ˈflæ.tən/
"flatten" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“flatten” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #29,657. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #29,657
- frequency rank, English
- 2,507
- “F” headwords
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To make something flat or flatter.
Corpus desk
Index EN-flatten · flatten · English
flatten · rank #29,657 · 9 variants · 7 confusables
- FREQ-MID #29,657
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
- VAR-MID 9 variants
- BOOK-MID 2,507
- PHOTO-FINISH fizz
Nearest frequency peer: fizz (-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 “flatten”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- fey
fey
70,347 corpus weight
- figuratively
figuratively
70,346 corpus weight
- fizz
fizz
70,345 corpus weight
- flatten
flatten
70,344 corpus weight
- foiled
foiled
70,342 corpus weight
- fonda
fonda
70,341 corpus weight
What this shows “flatten” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
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 | flatten |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈflæ.tən/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #29,657 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “flatten”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 9 spelling variants around flatten (IPA /ˈflæ.tən/), averb. Corpus frequency is #29,657 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for flatten, with forms such as "faltten", "fflatten", and "flaten". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "flatter", "flutter", "flattery", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From flat + -en. The correct English form is flatten, spelled F-L-A-T-T-E-N.
Definition
- 1To make something flat or flatter.
- 2To press one's body tightly against a surface, such as a wall or floor, especially in order to avoid being seen or harmed.
- 3To knock down or lay low.
- 4To become flat or flatter; to plateau.
- 5To be knocked down or laid low.
- 6To lower by a semitone.
- 7To make vapid or insipid; to render stale.
- 8To reduce (a data structure) to one that has fewer dimensions, e.g. a 2×2 array into a list of four elements.
- 9To combine (separate layers) into a single image.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how flatten appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
As there was a lot of damage, we chose the heavy roller to flatten the pitch.
Mary would flatten the dough before rolling it into pretzels.
Etymology
From flat + -en.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- faltten
- fflatten
- flaten
- flatetn
- flattenn
- flattne
- fllatten
- fltaten
- lfatten
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of flatten - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "flatten"?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "flatten", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).