foretold

/ˈfɔɹ.toʊld/

//ˈfɔɹ.toʊld// verb

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

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

The verdict

“foretold” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #35,298. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#35,298
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - simple past and past participle of foretell

Corpus desk

Index EN-foretold · foretold · English

foretold · rank #35,298 · 12 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #35,298
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH forego

Nearest frequency peer: forego (-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 “foretold”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “foretold” 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).

foretold vs foreword
75% similar

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

Key facts for foretold
PropertyValue
Headwordforetold
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈfɔɹ.toʊld/
Letters8
Frequency rank#35,298
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “foretold”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).foretoldlands 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 “forego” (#35,297), “fortification” (#35,300), “flopping” (#35,295). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “foretold” is #35,298. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around foretold (IPA /ˈfɔɹ.toʊld/), averb. Corpus frequency is #35,298 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Dominant gloss: "simple past and past participle of foretell".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for foretold, with forms such as "fforetold", "foertold", and "foreotld". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "foreword", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is foretold, spelled F-O-R-E-T-O-L-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of foretell

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • fforetold
  • foertold
  • foreotld
  • foretlod
  • foretodl
  • foretoldd
  • foretolld
  • forettold
  • forretold
  • forteold
  • froetold
  • ofretold

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of foretold - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

fforetold1foertold2foreotld2foretlod2foretodl2foretoldd1foretolld1forettold1
Edit distance from "foretold"

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 "foretold"?
"foretold" is spelled F-O-R-E-T-O-L-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɔɹ.toʊld/.
What does "foretold" mean?
As a verb, "foretold" means: simple past and past participle of foretell
What words are commonly confused with "foretold"?
"foretold" is commonly confused with "foreword". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "foretold"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "foretold" is /ˈfɔɹ.toʊld/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "foretold" come from?
"foretold" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "foretold", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

flopping#35,295Francine#35,303Flaherty#35,291Esposito#35,283

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

greenery12 variantsGwyneth12 variantsHebrides12 variantsheighten12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list