foretelling

noun

"foretelling" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“foretelling” is an uncommon English word, ranked #91,519 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#91,519
frequency rank, English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - prediction

Key facts for foretelling
PropertyValue
Headwordforetelling
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters11
Frequency rank#91,519
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “foretelling” 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). foretelling 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 foretelling is 11 letters long, classified as a noun. Corpus data places it at rank #91,519 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "prediction".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for foretelling, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is foretelling, spelled F-O-R-E-T-E-L-L-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    prediction

Synonyms

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 "foretelling"?
"foretelling" is spelled F-O-R-E-T-E-L-L-I-N-G.
What does "foretelling" mean?
As a noun, "foretelling" means: prediction
What language does "foretelling" come from?
"foretelling" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “foretelling”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is F-O-R-E-T-E-L-L-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • 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