fooling

/ˈfuːlɪŋ/

//ˈfuːlɪŋ// verb

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

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

The verdict

“fooling” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,339. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,339
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 fool

Corpus desk

Index EN-fooling · fooling · English

fooling · rank #19,339 · 10 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #19,339
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH fleets

Nearest frequency peer: fleets (-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 “fooling”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “fooling” 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).

fooling vs forcing
71% similar
fooling vs forming
71% similar
fooling vs foolish
71% similar

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

Key facts for fooling
PropertyValue
Headwordfooling
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈfuːlɪŋ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#19,339
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “fooling”

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).foolinglands 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 “fleets” (#19,338), “formatting” (#19,340), “flagged” (#19,337). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fooling” is #19,339. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around fooling (IPA /ˈfuːlɪŋ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #19,339 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Dominant gloss: "present participle and gerund of fool".

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for fooling, with forms such as "ffooling", "foling", and "foloing". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "forcing", "forming", "foolish", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is fooling, spelled F-O-O-L-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of fool

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ffooling
  • foling
  • foloing
  • fooilng
  • foolign
  • foolingg
  • foolinng
  • foolling
  • foolnig
  • ofoling

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ffooling1foling1foloing2fooilng2foolign2foolingg1foolinng1foolling1
Edit distance from "fooling"

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

Same letter count

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

flagged#19,337fairies#19,332Gillian#19,349glaring#19,351

Similar misspelling depth

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

encoded10 variantsembargo10 variantseffected10 variantshooking10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list