foreboding

noun

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

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

The verdict

“foreboding” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #37,462. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#37,462
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A sense of evil to come.

Corpus desk

Index EN-foreboding · foreboding · English

foreboding · rank #37,462 · 15 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #37,462
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH Florian

Nearest frequency peer: Florian (-2 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 “foreboding”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “foreboding” 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).

foreboding vs foregoing
80% similar

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

Key facts for foreboding
PropertyValue
Headwordforeboding
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Frequency rank#37,462
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “foreboding”

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).forebodinglands 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 “Florian” (#37,460), “frieze” (#37,464), “feta” (#37,459). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “foreboding” is #37,462. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around foreboding, anoun. Corpus frequency is #37,462 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for foreboding, with forms such as "fforeboding", "foerboding", and "forbeoding". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "foregoing", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English forbodyng, vorboding, equivalent to fore- + bode + -ing. Compare German Vorbote (“harbinger, omen”). The correct English form is foreboding, spelled F-O-R-E-B-O-D-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    A sense of evil to come.
  2. 2
    An evil omen.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. To me there is something sad in his life, and sometimes I have a sort of foreboding about him. I don't know why, but I fancy he will have some great trouble—perhaps an unhappy end.
  2. A sense of foreboding, the like of which he had never known before, hung heavily on him.

Etymology

From Middle English forbodyng, vorboding, equivalent to fore- + bode + -ing. Compare German Vorbote (“harbinger, omen”).

This word in other languages

Ahnung(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • fforeboding
  • foerboding
  • forbeoding
  • forebboding
  • forebdoing
  • forebodding
  • forebodign
  • forebodingg
  • forebodinng
  • forebodnig
  • foreboidng
  • foreobding
  • forreboding
  • froeboding
  • ofreboding

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

fforeboding1foerboding2forbeoding2forebboding1forebdoing2forebodding1forebodign2forebodingg1
Edit distance from "foreboding"

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 "foreboding"?
"foreboding" is spelled F-O-R-E-B-O-D-I-N-G.
What does "foreboding" mean?
As a noun, "foreboding" means: A sense of evil to come.
What words are commonly confused with "foreboding"?
"foreboding" is commonly confused with "foregoing". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "foreboding"?
From Middle English forbodyng, vorboding, equivalent to fore- + bode + -ing. Compare German Vorbote (“harbinger, omen”). 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 "foreboding", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

gatekeeper#37,466eyeglasses#37,452exuberance#37,451extraneous#37,450

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

familiarize15 variantsDuckworth15 variantsincapacity15 variantsMalaysians15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list