foregone

/ˈfɔɹɡɔn/

//ˈfɔɹɡɔn// verb

"foregone" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“foregone” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #38,843 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#38,843
frequency rank, English
8
letters
11
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - past participle of forego

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

foregone vs forego
75% similar
foregone vs foregoing
78% similar

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

Key facts for foregone
PropertyValue
Headwordforegone
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈfɔɹɡɔn/
Letters8
Frequency rank#38,843
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “foregone” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). foregone lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for foregone is 8 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈfɔɹɡɔn/. Corpus data places it at rank #38,843 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "past participle of forego".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for foregone, with forms such as "fforegone", "foergone", and "foreggone". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "forego", "foregoing", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is foregone, spelled F-O-R-E-G-O-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    past participle of forego

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: fforegone,foergone,foreggone,foregnoe,foregoen,foregonne,foreogne,forgeone,forregone,froegone,ofregone

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of foregone - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

fforegone1foergone2foreggone1foregnoe2foregoen2foregonne1foreogne2forgeone2
Edit distance from "foregone"

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 "foregone"?
"foregone" is spelled F-O-R-E-G-O-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɔɹɡɔn/.
What does "foregone" mean?
As a verb, "foregone" means: past participle of forego
What words are commonly confused with "foregone"?
"foregone" is commonly confused with "forego", "foregoing". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "foregone"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "foregone" is /ˈfɔɹɡɔn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "foregone" come from?
"foregone" 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.

Using “foregone”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is F-O-R-E-G-O-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈfɔɹɡɔn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “forego” - see the side-by-side comparison. foregone vs forego
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list