frightening
/ˈfɹaɪtənɪŋ/
"frightening" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“frightening” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #11,699 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #11,699
- frequency rank, English
- 11
- letters
- 18
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Causing fear; or capable of causing fear; scary.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | frightening |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈfɹaɪtənɪŋ/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #11,699 |
| Misspellings tracked | 18 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “frightening” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for frightening is 11 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈfɹaɪtənɪŋ/. Corpus data places it at rank #11,699 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 18 likely wrong-spelling variants for frightening, with forms such as "ffrightening", "firghtening", and "frgihtening". 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. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From frighten + -ing. The correct English form is frightening, spelled F-R-I-G-H-T-E-N-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1Causing fear; or capable of causing fear; scary.
- 2Awful, terrible, very bad.
Etymology
From frighten + -ing.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ffrightening,firghtening,frgihtening,frigghtening,frighetning,frighhtening,frighteinng,frightenign,frighteningg,frighteninng,frightennig,frightenning,frightneing,frighttening,frigthening,frihgtening,frrightening,rfightening
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of frightening - 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.
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 "frightening"?
What does "frightening" mean?
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Using “frightening”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-R-I-G-H-T-E-N-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈfɹaɪtənɪŋ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.