forbearing

noun

"forbearing" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“forbearing” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - forbearance; restraint

Corpus desk

Index EN-forbearing · forbearing · English

forbearing · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "F" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for forbearing
PropertyValue
Headwordforbearing
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “forbearing” in English

forbearingranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

forbearing is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "forbearance; restraint".

No misspelling variants are generated for forbearing in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English forbering, forberyng, vorberinge, equivalent to forbear + -ing. The correct English form is forbearing, spelled F-O-R-B-E-A-R-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    forbearance; restraint

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. "As God's forbearing to create more worlds than he has, is no impeachment of his omnipotence: so his forbearing to save as many as he might, is no impeachment of his infinite mercy."

Etymology

From Middle English forbering, forberyng, vorberinge, equivalent to forbear + -ing.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "forbearing"?
"forbearing" is spelled F-O-R-B-E-A-R-I-N-G.
What does "forbearing" mean?
As a noun, "forbearing" means: forbearance; restraint
What is the origin of the word "forbearing"?
From Middle English forbering, forberyng, vorberinge, equivalent to forbear + -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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list