generational
"generational" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“generational” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #20,123 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #20,123
- frequency rank, English
- 12
- letters
- 17
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of, pertaining to, or changing over generations.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | generational |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| Letters | 12 |
| Frequency rank | #20,123 |
| Misspellings tracked | 17 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “generational” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for generational is 12 letters long, classified as an adjective. Corpus data places it at rank #20,123 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for generational, with forms such as "egnerational", "geenrational", and "geneartional". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "generations", "generation", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From generation + -al. The correct English form is generational, spelled G-E-N-E-R-A-T-I-O-N-A-L.
Definition
- 1Of, pertaining to, or changing over generations.
- 2Exceptional; the best/worst of a generation; once-in-a-generation.
- 3Very good/bad (through semantic bleaching or weakening of the above sense).
Etymology
From generation + -al.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: egnerational,geenrational,geneartional,generaitonal,generatinoal,generatioanl,generationall,generationla,generationnal,generatoinal,generattional,generrational,genertaional,gennerational,genreational,ggenerational,gneerational
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of generational - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "generational"?
What does "generational" mean?
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Using “generational”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-E-N-E-R-A-T-I-O-N-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Don't mix it up with “generations” - see the side-by-side comparison. generational vs generations
- 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.