frowning

/ˈfɹaʊnɪŋ/

//ˈfɹaʊnɪŋ// verb

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

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

The verdict

“frowning” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #41,138. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#41,138
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - present participle and gerund of frown

Corpus desk

Index EN-frowning · frowning · English

frowning · rank #41,138 · 13 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #41,138
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH Frieda

Nearest frequency peer: Frieda (-2 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 “frowning”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “frowning” 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).

frowning vs flowing
75% similar
frowning vs fawning
75% similar
frowning vs frosting
75% similar

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

Key facts for frowning
PropertyValue
Headwordfrowning
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈfɹaʊnɪŋ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#41,138
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “frowning”

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).frowninglands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Frieda” (#41,136), “futsal” (#41,140), “fricking” (#41,135). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “frowning” is #41,138. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around frowning (IPA /ˈfɹaʊnɪŋ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #41,138 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Dominant gloss: "present participle and gerund of frown".

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for frowning, with forms such as "ffrowning", "forwning", and "fronwing". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "flowing", "fawning", "frosting", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is frowning, spelled F-R-O-W-N-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of frown

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Frowning heads are still gloomily shaken when the subject is raised on the NER, [...].

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ffrowning
  • forwning
  • fronwing
  • frowinng
  • frownign
  • frowningg
  • frowninng
  • frownnig
  • frownning
  • frowwning
  • frrowning
  • frwoning
  • rfowning

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of frowning - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ffrowning1forwning2fronwing2frowinng2frownign2frowningg1frowninng1frownnig2
Edit distance from "frowning"

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

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "frowning", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

fricking#41,135Freiburg#41,134Germaine#41,146Goulburn#41,155

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

grunting13 variantsepidermis13 variantsdishonour13 variantsloathsome13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list