frankness

/ˈfɹæŋknɛs/

//ˈfɹæŋknɛs// noun

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

"frankness" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“frankness” is uncommon English (frequency #52,331 among 2,507 “F” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,331
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The state of being frank; candour; honesty.

Corpus desk

Index EN-frankness · frankness · English

frankness · rank #52,331 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #52,331
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH Frankish

Nearest frequency peer: Frankish (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “frankness”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “frankness” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for frankness
PropertyValue
Headwordfrankness
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfɹæŋknɛs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#52,331
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “frankness” in English

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Frankish” (#52,330), “Fredericton” (#52,332), “freshener” (#52,333). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “frankness” is #52,331. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

frankness is uncommon English at frequency #52,331 among 2,507 “F” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈfɹæŋknɛs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The state of being frank; candour; honesty.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for frankness, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From frank + -ness. The correct English form is frankness, spelled F-R-A-N-K-N-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The state of being frank; candour; honesty.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. complete frankness
  2. speak with frankness

Etymology

From frank + -ness.

This word in other languages

franqueza(Español)franchise(Français)Offenheit(Deutsch)franqueza(Português)

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 "frankness"?
"frankness" is spelled F-R-A-N-K-N-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɹæŋknɛs/.
What does "frankness" mean?
As a noun, "frankness" means: The state of being frank; candour; honesty.
How do you pronounce "frankness"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "frankness" is /ˈfɹæŋknɛs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "frankness"?
From frank + -ness. 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 "frankness", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

freshener#52,333foundered#52,328forecourt#52,325foreclose#52,324

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list